Moonlight Spark
by Love SasuHina
Summary: "Two young hearts can pass by each other and leave a spark. Without noticing, Sasuke Uchiha carried it in his heart. Hinata Hyuuga without realizing cherished and nourished it. Love is not always direct, it's never fast and most of all it is rarely simple." Following the original Naruto storyline up until the end of the manga.
1. Chapter 0

Disclaimer: I, evidently, do not own any of these characters, their world: we all thank Kishimoto for his work that amuses, distracts and inspire us.

* * *

 _ **Friends, family, love. What can it all represent to people? There are as many ways to love as there are hearts. And two hearts can pass by each other and leave a small spark.**_

* * *

 **Intro**

* * *

 _Blood. Corpses. Red eyes._ Sasuke woke up tired and restless. Again, that same nightmare. _"Okaa-san, otou-san",_ he still heard his childish voice echo in despair.

His bloodline activated, he stared at the ceiling of that same house. Damn it. He wouldn't be able to sleep even though his whole body was aching for rest.

He got up and decided to walk around the village. At least this late at night no fangirl would be up to annoy him.

Whenever he was in his clan's district, it felt like the moon was blood-shot and staring at him; defying him to activate his sharingan eyes. The empty streets were too quiet, too somber, shadows hiding even beneath the darkness. Jumping onto the rooftops, he quickly left that place that was both his nightmares and his home.

Konoha at this time of the night was quiet. Some drunk people were leaving the bars, the waiters and barkeepers swiftly dealing with their departure as they were wont to do, restaurants finally closing shop. From his elevated position, he simply observed the scenery, nothing really catching his attention, naught helping him forget. He did a quick turn and headed towards the village extremities; maybe nature could divert his attention.

While approaching the edge of the forest surrounding the village of the Leaf, his sharp senses distinguished some activity coming from a training ground not far. Who could be training this late at night? Someone he knew? Could Naruto be that rarin' to try to surpass him? He smirked at that last though. His blond-haired teammate still had long ways to go to actually reach his level; although he'd been having some quite interesting progress lately. Not that he was ready to admit it to that dobe. Nevertheless, Naruto usually slept like a log at night, which was actually needed for him to be that energetic during the day.

Curious, he decided to go take a look, applying Kakashi's lessons on how to best conceal his presence. Having no more houses, he now moved between trees as silently and swiftly as possible, avoiding the ruffle of leaves and moving according to the wind's blows. The training ground was dimly lit by several candles. Two training dummies lay on each side of a tree. Around the tree, a futon was tied to soften the blows and noise.

Sasuke managed to distinguish a small figure hitting with their palms open the futon. _What an unusual fighting style_.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" The girl stopped her movements and was panting, her palms now resting on her knees. She soon dropped to the ground and lay against the tree, looking completely exhausted.

She had short dark hair, with two bangs framing her pale face. Her pallor shone in the darkness, and as he approached he managed to distinguish remarkable lavender featureless eyes. _A Hyuuga._ He realized she had her bandana hanging around her neck, which meant she was probably a genin like himself. He had a vague idea of who she was, but couldn't remember her name. Nonetheless, he just stood there and watched her.

After what felt quite long pause, she finally stood up and started gathering her things. He could see she had actually been crying. _Pathetic._ He decided to sleep on that tree: he didn't feel like going home.

* * *

After not much investigation, he discovered her name was Hinata Hyuuga, and that she was in team 8 with the loud Kiba and discreet Shino. She was extremely docile, shy and for some reason he couldn't even fathom, completely in love with his own stupid teammate Naruto. She would watch him every chance she could get and become red as a tomato if he ever approached the people around her. Of course, he rarely talked directly to her since she didn't spoke at all, or just murmured "N-n-Naruto-kun" before almost fainting. And the idiot blonde had absolutely no idea.

He remembered why she at least had small trace in his memory:

 _Days after the incident… When he returned to school, he had no food. Everybody was opening their bentous. Even Naruto that day had gotten one from Iruka-sensei. He just stood apart and looked without seeing. He remembered noticing someone approaching him. She fidgeted her fingers with a small lavender package in her arms. She glanced so quickly at him, and dropped the package in his lap and left. He opened, it was a small bentou, and inside it were tomatoes. He felt the tears come to his eyes, and ate in silence the now salty food._

Each night that he couldn't sleep, or had his nightmares again, he went to those training grounds again. He ended up finding them peaceful. Hinata didn't come very often, or at least not on the same nights as him. And when she did came, she always ended the same way as the first night. She cried, frustrated and went home after cleaning every trace of her spending time there. _She is not even progressing. Why is she even still trying? Hmpf, so pathetic. Even worse than Naruto, and she's supposed to represent her clan. She hasn't even sensed me, but then, I'm also that good._

Weeks later, Kakashi proposed they try the Chuunin exam. So he started training, and was then too exhausted and managed most of the time to sleep all night in his own bed. He had no idea if her team was going to try and he couldn't care less. He already had his own idiot to care about.

* * *

Sitting on his bed on a cloudless cold night, Sasuke pondered. So many things had happened during the Chuunin exam. The mark Orochimaru had left him sometimes burned his skin, or tingled at him tempting him to try and use its power. He had many more nights where he couldn't sleep. This particular was horribly long and he couldn't even manage to close his eyes. Once more, he decided to go _there._ He didn't know what he actually hoped, but he didn't know what else to do.

Even before arriving near the location, he sensed someone was already there. Upon arrival on his usual tree, he noticed the girl stop and look around. _She's finally getting better, she finally noticed me._

"W-who's there?" She murmured.

He decided to step down and show himself.

"S-Sasuke-san…" She hesitated, very surprised. She was about to say something else, when he simply took a fighting stance: both feet apart, right leg slightly upfront, his right hand with the palm open, the other closed in a fist beside his waist. Her eyes opened wide in astonishment. It was the Hyuuga taijutsu stance! He had probably managed to copy it from watching Neji and Naruto's fight, since she remembered he was in the medical bay when she fought. It wasn't good to have someone outside the clan know their techniques, but without the Byakugan, it was just a taijutsu much less effective.

Sasuke didn't see her fight, but he had heard what had happened against her cousin from Naruto. He got intrigued by the determination she seemingly showed during that fight. Maybe she wasn't that useless, after all, Naruto had just managed to surpass his own expectations and was acquiring a threatening strength. He was bored, and watching wouldn't satisfy him. Why not participate? A sparring partner would surely benefit her. He stood there, waiting for her reaction.

Hinata wondered. Sasuke-san, the genius, the last of the most powerful clan, was standing there ready to spar with her using her own clan's techniques. Could she actually bear the weigh of fighting such a strong ninja? Did she even deserve this chance? Was he mocking her? She shook her head strongly. _Whatever his reasons are, this a good chance to train. Naruto-kun wouldn't back down from any opportunity._ Activating her bloodline, she copied his stance and lunged forward.

She was clumsy, but she had gotten better. Looking from the scars on her hands, she had been training much harder than before, and possibly more often. He could easily dodge all her attacks and strike back with his own. Nonetheless he did very little damage since he was using the Hyuuga gentle fist without the chakra strike. He was barely breaking a sweat when she was already panting from exhaustion. He smirked and raised an eyebrow as his asking her if she was already done. With a look he had never seen or imagined her having before, she glared back and aimed for his neck. _Not bad. Nowhere near good, but this might start becoming a good pastime._

* * *

He eventually started coming every night and also did she, as the futon could clearly bear witness: so many marks across it showed that she had grown in strength and had shed blood more than once due to persistence. The center of the training dummies had started to become noticeable holes which proved her accuracy with shurikens and kurenais had also improved. Sasuke no longer imitated her style, but started using his own taijutsu, afterall, she was more prone to fight people outside her clan. She had gotten better, nowhere near him, but sometimes she actually managed to scare him a little bit by almost touching him. They never shared a single word. He arrived in the middle of her training and started sparring. When they decided to end, she just bowed in thanks of his participation and left. He never bulged before she was far gone.

Tonight, he had pinned her down again with ease, her left arm being forcefully restricted on her back and her face on the ground. Usually they ended there and he left his guard down a bit, admiring her figure. He hadn't really payed attention, but outside this place, she always wore a huge coat which covered most of her body. Now she was wearing only her black ninja outfit which was now glued to all of her slender body. They were only in their thirteen years, in budding adolescence and their bodies were starting to mature. She had nice curves, and when she would be older… His thoughts were interrupted by her sudden movement. With a weirdly flexible movement of her right arm, she managed to push away his own and free herself back to her feet. She grabbed that same arm and he watched her relocate. _Hm, she went as far as dislocation to free herself. Not bad._ He smirked, and this time, he launched at her.

She was getting faster at parrying, so he could finally start raising his speed bit by bit. The Hyuuga girl probably didn't realize it, but she was finally starting to have good bases in close combat. Nonetheless, she fatigated very fast. After avoiding her palm full of chakra, he jumped back and opened a space between them. She kept her stance, but Hinata was panting, and drops of sweat were rolling down her face.

Sasuke blinked twice… he almost thought she looked beautiful under the moonlight.

"Why do you train so hard?"

"A-ano…?"

"Why do you train so hard?" He repeated, _despite not progressing much._

"I-I need to get stronger. T-to be a g-good shinobi. I p-promised I would do my best."She looked hesitant at first. "I won't go back on my word, that's my ninja way." She didn't stutter, and a determined look shone on her eyes.

"Hmpf. Sounds like something Naruto would say." He noticed she blushed a bit.

"A-ano, why do you come here so often, if I may ask S-sasuke-san."

"I can't sleep, and you are the only interesting thing going on at this hour."

She looked taken aback, not sure if it was a compliment, the opposite or just a fact.

He sat down. He leaned back and rested his weight on his shoulders and looked at the moon.

"Why do you like Naruto?" He bluntly asked. The girl turned full crimson.

"E-eh? I-I…" She played with her fingers.

"Everybody knows, except him. Don't worry, I'm not the one who's gonna tell him."

"W-well… he's had it so hard since he was a baby b-but he never stopped smiling and f-fighting. And he's just so funny and full of life." She giggled, the sound a sweet melody. "But m-maybe that's just the reason I started paying attention to him. W-when I started loving him… I'm not sure, love is just a feeling that comes and…" She trailed off, and but her hands on her cheeks, feeling how hot they were. "S-sorry! I spoke too much! And she hid her face in her knees."

"I didn't even know you could utter so many words at once." He teased her. She looked up, trying to understand his meaning.

"S-sorry"she murmured. He laughed out loud, when he saw her apologetic face; and laughed even more when she looked a bit annoyed at his reaction. He opened a wide smirk and stood up.

"Let's go, again. And drop the san."

* * *

 _Kso, kso, kso!_ So much had happened lately. Sasuke had encountered his brother and lost disgracefully. Not a single thing he could do; he was so far away from being strong enough to avenge his clan! And even after all his progress, after what Kakashi had taught him. Not even against Naruto he had managed to establish his superiority. That dobe had maybe even surpassed him after their fight in the hospital roof! He had received a scolding from Kakashi for almost using the Chidori in their fight _"Friends over power". I need power. And nothing else for now._

Irritated, he was wandering around town. His feet took him to a familiar place. She was dancing gracefully in the middle of the battle grounds. He didn't think and rushed at once towards her. Instead of the calm and smirking Sasuke, he was full of rage. Hinata was surprised, but quickly reacted to the attack. He was forceful, not taking it easy on her at all. She finally realized how much he must have been holding back, not taking her on seriously. Activating her Byakugan, she noticed scarlet eyes staring back at hers. He was dead serious, and she was ready to take him dead on.

It took every inch of her ability to just keep evading his attacks. She parried his kick on the side, and then stepped back to avoid his punch. He had acquired a remarkable speed upon copying Lee's taijutsu and at present was slowly increasing during this fight to reach it. Luckily, she didn't need hand signs to activate her kekkei genkai nor her techniques, since he obviously wouldn't give her time to perform them. However, she was being pushed into only defense and was unable to even think about counterattacking. He was being too forward: this was a real fight. He wasn't yet coming with all his strength at her, but she could feel some killing intent.

Suddenly he used his trademark fire jutsu and when she just barely escaped the flame marks, he appeared above her and used his Lion combo. Hinata did not manage to escape it in time and just barely blocked it to reduce the damage. Upon hitting the ground, she was severely wounded and started coughing blood. Sasuke now stood upon her, hate and rage still all over his red eyes, as if he couldn't even see her, as if his mind was fighting a demon and taking it out on her body. She tried to move and strike him, but she was too slow and he pinned both her arms above her head. His strike had been so rough her black t-shirt was ripped exposing her.

"S-Sasuke-kun… a-are you all right?" She asked between painful coughs.

The Uchiha blinked, as if waking up from a vision. He was about to start the signs for a Chidori. That sweet voice… _Damn, what was I doing?_ He looked down at the half-undressed girl under him, blood dripping from her face, and his knee still in her stomach. Her face was distorted in agony. _She asked if I was alright?_

He immediately released her, and she started rubbing her wrists, now red with marks of his hands. When she tried to stand up, she had to hold her ribs from the seeping pain starting to grown on her sides. He looked at her state and felt a bit bad. He turned his back at her. Still leaning on the ground, she admired his figure from behind. He started taking off his shirt. Hinata could understand why his physique was so appealing to the other kunoichis, his back was strong and muscular even though they were just kids and his ebony black hair had a wild cut that fitted his image. When she realized what she had been thinking, and that the man in front of her was torso-naked, she started to blush uncontrollably.

"Wh-wha…?" He threw his t-shirt at her, and that's when she realized the state of her own clothes. The tattered t-shirt was now revealing the beginning of her training bra and exposing almost her whole stomach. Before passing out from embarrassment, and possibly from the strain of the fight; she thought she saw him murmur something before heading away. _Gomenasai._

* * *

Hinata was walking funny that night. She still felt pain from the beating she received from Sasuke the night before. She had seen his combo when he fought Yoroi in the Chuunin exam, and thankfully it was due to that fact that she had been able to block a good deal of the damage. Since she didn't want to get in trouble with her clan, even though her father usually did not care what she did, she hid her injuries. Neji, who had been really apologetic since the Chuunin exam, was surprised to see her turn down his offer to train that day and looked concerned.

Despite being in no shape to do so, she had decided to go to the training grounds again to see if Sasuke-kun would show up.

It had been an amazing opportunity to spar with him the last few weeks. She still didn't know why he did so, since she didn't perform as a formidable enemy to even make him sweat. But she felt she had progressed a bit and was very thankful to him. Maybe last night he was just pissed at how useless she was.

Hinata looked down and started playing with her fingers, feeling stupid. She must have disappointed him too. She needed to apologize for making him waste his time. He probably wasn't even going to show up again anyway, but she was still going to try.

Looking for his chakra signature, she tried to concentrate. She was now quite familiar with it. Hinata managed to pinpoint an idea of a direction and used her Byakugan to find him. She noticed four chakra signatures and Sasuke's confronting at the other side of the city. The four people with Sasuke... their chakra made her shiver. They were strong. Unfortunately, the way she was hurt, she wouldn't get there quickly, but she tried to move as fast as she could.

* * *

The Sound 4 had finally convinced the Uchiha that he needed Orochimaru to grow in power. Since, if he stayed, he might go overboard trying to reach new heights… as he did yesterday. He felt bad for what he did to the poor kunoichi, and Kakashi's words tingled a bit in his mind. Sasuke felt something for his teammates, and he did feel that if his life wasn't so messed up, he and Naruto could actually have been normal best friends. But he could't let that kind of think cloud his judgement. He couldn't let it slow his path of vengeance.

Sasuke perceived flocks of pink hair in front of him.

"It's the middle of night, what are you doing here?" He asked, annoyed, avoiding her eyes.

"This is the only path out of the village." Sakura murmured.

"You should go to bed." He said as he walked past her.

"Why Sasuke-kun?" Tears started streaming down her face. "Why don't ever share anything with me? Why is it always silence with you…?"

"Why should I ever have to tell you anything?" He cut her, briskly. "Just keep your nose out of my business, it's none of your concern."

"Demo, Sasuke…"

"It's a new beginning now. I need to follow my path. I'm not like you and Naruto."

The other four signatures had disappeared from her radar, but she was still trying to approach Sasuke's and someone she recognized as Sakura. She hesitated. Maybe she shouldn't bother them. But seeing how agitated their flows were, she decided she at least had to see if they were okay.

When she arrived, she saw Sasuke knock out Sakura, while saying thank you. As Sakura fell to the ground, he noticed Hinata's presence immediately. He glared at her.

"What do you want?"

"I-I just wanted to see if everything was okay, I felt a disturbance." She stuttered from his murdering intent. His eyes softened while looking at her hold where he had hit her the day before. She had strained herself even when she was in no position to actually help. _Is she an idiot or just that naïve?_ Is S-sakura …?

"Take her. And don't think of getting in my way too." Hinata caught a glimpse of flickering red eyes. She hesitated… Sakura must have tried to stop him from doing whatever he was going to do.

"D-demo Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Again with that question. What did she want to know? No, he wasn't okay.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. Thank you for… all these nights. It was fun." He murmured and Hinata barely heard him. She saw him look at her with hesitation, with some kind of longing. Before she could say anything else, he threw Sakura's unconscious body at her and disappeared into the night.

Hinata lay there, feeling useless.

Hinata had then left Sakura in good care. The next day, she went to visit Naruto in the hospital. She had heard he fought against Sasuke and almost died. He was awake looking at the ceiling from his bed. His face was a painting: his emotions clearly displayed. She could see he had cried, and he was not his grinning fool usual self. So much sadness…

The Hyuuga couldn't get herself to enter the room, and just slid down quietly on the floor, feeling guilty she didn't even try to stop the best friend of the man she loved from hurting him. Sakura herself had almost the same inscrutable sadness when she woke up. And all Hinata could do was cry to share the pain of team 7.

 **End of Prologue**

* * *

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _Hello!_**

 ** _This is the author. This is my first fanfic in English, so please be nice about weird phrasing or grammatical errors. I'm welcome to any critics, opinions, questions and will try to answer if there are any._**

 ** _Please do leave a review since it always makes our work feel appreciated. And hope you'll stay for the rest._**

 ** _As for the story: there will be at first a lot of ellipses. I'll try to follow more or less what happened in the manga and insert my scenes there until the end of the Fourth war. My updates will be more or less once every two weeks depending on support :)_**

 ** _Lastly: it is rated M for a reason. You've been warned._**

 ** _Hope you enjoy!_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Two years had passed since Sasuke left the village. Naruto also had gone on a trip with Jiraya and come back. Meanwhile team 8, team 11 and team Gai had retook the Chuunin exam and had managed to pass it. The most important thing was... that Naruto was finally back. Hinata Hyuuga had fainted upon seeing him again, but a heart-warming happiness had reborn on her heart. She had never faltered on her decision to keep training as hard as she could, like she knew the blond Uzumaki would be doing.

Nevertheless, Naruto's expression after letting Sasuke escape had broken her heart. The Hyuuga knew, by having observed so much of his character, that Naruto did not forget that night and that the thought of his teammate had never left his mind during this time. Unfortunately, no important leads had appeared and the village had concentrated their resources on other matters. She wished she could help him more, but for now all she could do is become stronger until the day he would need her, and that's why she had been training her tracking skills so fervently. Nevertheless, Hinata could also not falter on her taijutsu training: she had a partner she needed one day to prove her worth in a spar.

* * *

"Hinata-sama, let's try again."

"Just Hinata, Neji-nii-san"

Neji was helping her refine the Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven and other clan's techniques. Her father, despite being softer on her, still did not regard her as worthy of being heiress and focused most of his time on Hanabi. Hinata didn't mind but felt guilty for the pressure Hanabi was starting to suffer. She hoped she could one day help ease the weight on the shoulders of her little sister.

She performed again, and Neji sighed.

"You have improved, but you still need to ascertain your final move to really end the enemy. No hesitations should exist in your movements."

"Hai!" And she tried again.

Since Neji lost to Naruto, his attitude towards her changed. He spent a lot of time helping her. She didn't go to train at night anymore since he managed her so roughly during the day. He was no soft teacher, although as soon as she got hurt, her cousin immediately felt apologetic and did everything for her recovery.

"Hinata-sama, Neji-sama, I'm sorry to bother, but your sister is in your garden." One of Hinata's maids informed her.

"I'll be right back Neji-nii-san." He nodded.

Hinata followed the wooden path outside the Hyuuga mansion until she reached the door to her room. On the other side, the glass door to her small herb garden lay open. She saw her sister standing up there looking at her recently bloomed flowers. She looked spent and fatigated.

"Hanabi." She called.

"I came because it smelled so good." The younger of the Hyuuga's didn't even look at her sibling, her eyes fixated on a white rose. Hinata approached and kneeled beside her. She plucked one of the white roses and offered it to her sister. "Take it." She said. And she got up and rummaged through one of her drawers and brought also a small box. "Pass this cream on your sore muscles, it'll ease the discomfort."

Hanabi looked at her surprised, grabbed both offerings and left. Hinata lay there a bit longer looking where her sister passed. They had never really talked or interacted except for when their father made them fight each other.

Hinata sighed. She hoped her sister was okay.

"Hinata-sama, are you good to continue?" Neji appeared at the door, a small concerned wrinkle showing up between his eyes.

"Yes." She replied with a small smile. If she had managed to patch things up with her cousin, she could still try to do it with her sister.

* * *

"The usual Hinata-chan?" Said the Ichiraku ramen owner.

"Please." She said with a smile. She liked coming to the ramen shop but wasn't brave enough to go there when Naruto was present. At least seating on the same booth made her feel a bit closer to him. She felt silly and kind of stalkerish, but the warm feeling she felt when eating there just made her giggle at those thoughts.

"Oh Hinata-chan! You're eating here? Let us join you!" She heard a loud voice yell, and immediately turned crimson red.

"N-naruto-kun!" She exclaimed. "O-of course." She said while looking at her lap.

"Sakura-chan, seat here! I'm offering today! To you too Hinata, it's a good day!" He laughed.

"The least you could do after dragging me here! Ne baka!" Insisted Sakura, a small vein popping on her forehead. "But I didn't guess you would like ramen Hinata." She said on a lower tone.

"H-hm, just a bit. Sometimes it's good." The raven-haired girl answered while playing nervously with her fingers.

"It's always good! Ramen is life!" Boasted Naruto.

"STOP YELLING!" Sakura ironically yelled while hitting Naruto's head.

"Showyy Sakura-chan." Apologized Naruto while rubbing his aching head.

"W-what are you celebrating?" Asked Hinata, laughing at Naruto's weird face.

"A successful mission with our new team! Although Sai couldn't come nor Yamato…" His voice trailed off in his thoughts.

"Yeah, a new team…" Whispered Sakura. Despite trying the efforts of the pink-haired kunoichi to hide her face in the menu, Hinata guessed what she was thinking or rather _who._ She sighed. "I'm not that hungry Naruto, I'll just head back home tonight." She said in an apologetic tone, not like her usual self. Both companions felt the change.

"Demo Sakura-chan!" Yelled Naruto, but the girl was gone. His face saddened a bit. "Kso. Just wait, I'll bring Sasuke back soon enough!" He murmured to himself.

Upon sighing, he suddenly turned to Hinata with a huge grin and asked how she was doing. The Hyuuga girl knew better than anyone how good he was at hiding his pain. Her heart ached, and she promised herself she would do anything to help him achieve his goals.

* * *

"Hinata, you ready to go?" Kiba asked loudly. He was in front of the Hyuuga clan arch waiting for his teammate. He saw Akamaru start wagging his tail and that's how he knew she was rushing to them without even using his sense of smell.

"Hai, Kiba-kun. Ohayo Akamaru!" Hinata rushed out of the Hyuuga compound and immediately leaned down to caress him.

Kiba admired her teammate. She had let grown her ebony hair to have it almost reach her waist, and he knew from their training sessions how her body had every feature of a woman's body. She still wore her bandana around her neck and now her uniform was a white and purple long coat. Most of all, he had watched her progress and determination. Shino and he were usually fueled by the strength of her will, although it annoyed him a little that some of it was inspired by Naruto.

"Shino and Kurenai must be already waiting for us. Let's move."

Both jumped on Akamaru's back and headed to the town's exit.

"It was about time. Bet it was Kiba who got you late." Kurenai accused with a joking smile.

"No, I got caught up separating my ointments and didn't see the time. I'm sorry." Hinata bowed. _So serious but sometimes so much of an airhead._ Thought her sensei.

"I was just joking Hinata, there's no problem." Kurenai said, making her student lift her head up. "Listen now. This is an A-ranked mission. You need to bring this cargo safely to the village of the Snow. No information of this should have leaked the village, but we never know. This information is part of important research on forbidden ninjutsu and it could be troublesome if it fell in the wrong hands. Beware Sound ninjas, as Orochimaru might be interested in it. You have a week to get there, so you have time to move carefully, with no haste. Avoid attracting attention, no stopping at villages. And finally, hope you brought warm clothing, as advised. Good luck Team 8."

She said, and she lay her eyes once on each of her students, proud. They had accomplished so much since they came into her hands as genin. Especially Hinata.

"Leaving immediately Sensei." All three acquiesced and started their trip.

"Surveillance formation!" Screamed Kiba.

Hinata moved to the back and activated her Byakugan. Her bloodline allowed her to watch their surrounding on all 360 degrees. Kiba was in front with Akamaru using their sense of smell to see if anything weird showed up. And Shino made use of his insects who were transporting the important shipment and hiding it under their cloud of numbers.

They had left in the morning and had been moving all day. When night finally approached, they decided to find a safe spot and camp.

"I see a good camping spot on our left in 700 meters." Informed the Hyuuga.

"Good, let's go."

They kept the pace the next few days. Travelling by day, resting by night by turning shifts to monitor their surroundings.

On the fourth day, Hinata made sign they were being followed. Her hand showed five people. Sound ninjas. Orochimaru must have caught wind of the mission.

Shino used his insects so that they could communicate how to proceed next. The battle plan established, each moved swiftly to take the according positions.

* * *

The battle had been difficult, since they had been outnumbered. Hinata had been circled by two of them and started by leading them away from Shino and Kiba. Both had managed to deal with the other three and protect the cargo. Hinata had a bit more difficulty because they seemed to know some of her techniques and be well aware on how to avoid them. One had managed to cut her arm deep, but she took that chance to hit his heart tenketsu and render him immobile. When she seemed to have a real issue dealing with the last one, Kiba and Shino joined her and the last ninja decided to flee. The kunoichi finally closed her eyes and deactivated her Byakugan, exhausted, she let herself be carried on Akamaru's back and applied her special ointment with bandages to help stop the bleeding.

"I think it's best we hurry and get there a day earlier. If they know what we're carrying, they might know when we should be arriving." Said Kiba. The other two agreed.

They took very little time to rest and managed to arrive to village of the Snow a day and a half before the estimated time. They decided to camp around the town and check the surroundings before heading in. There was nothing to report. The next day, they knocked in front of the research facility.

"Yes, you are a day early than expected. Is it good news or bad news?" A fifty-year old man opened the door. He was short and sluggish, but seemed somewhat muscular for his age.

"Unfortunately, bad news. We were attacked on our way here, and thought it better to deliver it before they could regroup and retry."

"Good choice. Please, come in and deliver the cargo."

"We need to see Ms. Hira. We will not leave in any other hands than hers."

"Oh, diligent until the end. Konoha's people do good work, yes, yes. I'll call her." He let them in. The first room was all white, a table at the entrance and a huge second door probably giving entrance to the laboratory. The old man went through the door and told them to wait.

Five minutes later, a wild-haired blond woman came running with him carrying many papers.

"Yes, yes, hello. You came early. Well, we can deal with that. And you were attacked, huh. We'll need to be careful." She spoke quickly, without pausing. "Here is the scroll to be given to the Hokage, here are the agreed fees. Now, since there seems to be a security issue, would you accept to extend the mission and remain here a few days, giving us time to secure all of the cargo?"

"I'll have to send a message to the Hokage to inform them, but there should be no problem." Said Kiba.

"Good, good. Here is an inn where you can stay at our fees. For now we have our guards, but do come back as soon as possible. At least one of you."

"Agreed. And could you tell us where is the hospital? My teammate got a little hurt, nothing serious, but we would like to treat it fast." Hira-san gave the directions. "Shino, stay here. I'll go with Hinata and then we'll settle at the inn. Afterwards, I'll come relieve you of your shift. Communicate any eventuality." Shino acquiesced. "Let's go Hinata."

"Hai, team leader!" She said, giggling a bit. Kiba blushed a little and walked ahead.

The medicnin said it was nothing serious, wouldn't even leave a scar. The only problematic is that by moving around her arms too much she could end up reopening the wound, and thus prolonging the healing process. He even praised her ointment and asked how she prepared and what she used. After exchanging some useful knowledge, he stitched the injury and sent them on their way.

They were going to stay at a classical inn, with a natural onsen open right into the forest. The temperature was starting to lower as night grew closer, and Hinata put on her winter clothes. Kiba had gone to change shifts with Shino. They could easily communicate with his highly trained insects.

"Rest, you'll take the morning shift. I'll send Akamaru to fetch you." He grinned.

"I'm not a toy!" She protested weakly. "But okay."

The next few days went on without a hitch. Tsunade had responded that they should help as much as Hira-san needed them. Finally, Hira-san told them that the information was secured and there were no more risks. She told them they could stay one more night before heading out if they so wished. They accepted heartily.

"AAAh, finally real rest!" Exclaimed Kiba, jumping on his bed. "Being this tense these last few days and nothing even happened. Even the ninjas we met we defeated them quickly. Didn't we, Aka?"

The dog barked in agreement.

"It's nice to have missions without much activity once in a while, ne, Shino-kun?" Shino barely moved but Hinata knew he had agreed.

The Hyuuga smiled. She was wearing a winter kimono given by the owner of the inn who took a liking to her. Hinata tried to turn her down, being too polite to accept the gesture, but she couldn't refuse after much insistence. "If I had a daughter I would've wished she was as gentle and beautiful as you!" The owner had exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's rest and tomorrow we'll go back to Konoha. Without the cargo we should be there in four days."

As both boys were getting ready to sleep, Hinata decided to go out on the onsen. She left the kimono and her undergarnments on dry rocks, tied her hair in a bun and entered the hot water. It was snowing quite a lot. While staring at the sky, she tried to see the moon and a snowflake entered her eye. She giggled and wiped it. Nature was beautiful right in front of her.

* * *

"Hmpf, what a pain." Thought Sasuke.

Orochimaru had sent it to retrieve some items regarding an old research of his that was being transferred out of Konoha after some of his incompetent underlings had failed.

However, he told him to avoid entering in conflict with the Snow village, so he would have to intercept it before it got delivered. Unfortunately, the idiots had took too long to fail and took too long to report it so he got there late. Even with Taka, Konoha's ninja had hurried the delivery and he would now have to report his lack of success too. And Sasuke Uchiha _did not fail_.

Annoyed, he decided to stay around a bit more to see if he could intercept it in any manner without being noticed or having to kill people. Not that it bothered him. But those weren't his orders.

Nonetheless, they kept the laboratory safely guarded by people he recognized as Kiba, Shino and… Hinata Hyuuga. He did not know why but seeing her stirred something in him. He simply dismissed it. After some night, he realized the cargo wouldn't be moved anymore, and decided to go back. But a feeling stopped him before leaving the village surroundings. He could feel a chakra activity coming from a spot near the forest, a familiar chakra. He went to check it out.

Hiding his presence, he approached the inn Team 8 was staying at. Concealed behind leaves and branches he looked down. On the hot water, lay the Hyuuga girl. She was playing with the water using her chakra, manipulating it a bit at her will. Hinata made made it float in a sphere in front of her. He was watching her back and saw her reflection on it. She had grown beautiful, he noticed and startled himself at his own thought.

A cloud that was covering the moon moved and a light shone on the scene. Hinata noticed a figure reflected on her sphere behind her and quickly reacted. She made needles out of the water and threw in its direction. _Damn it, how could I have been so distracted!_ Cursed the rogue ninja, as he retreated. _There is no need to fight her._

She quickly jumped out of the water and looked for something to put on herself. She only had the kimono. Without a choice, she put it on and hesitated for a second if she should wake her teammates up. Seeing how fast the figure was, she had no time, she would leave a noticeable trail for them to follow her if the woke up.

"Byakugan!" She activated and ran after him. He was fast, but he didn't know where to head so she was quickly gaining on him. He decided to go towards the mountain.

"Stop! Who are you?" She yelled behind him.

 _Mendokse_. Why did she have to follow him?He hadn't attacked, she could of just let it go. _Hmpf, but she's from Konoha. Of course they can't just leave me in peace._

He stopped when there were no more trees to hide his figure. They were on the uphill of the mountain and he had higher ground. She stopped when she saw his red eyes glaring at her pale ones.

"S-sasuke-kun" she muttered, surprised. His black hair contrasted against the falling snow and his red eyes shone under the darkness of the night.

"I have no business with you anymore. Your mission is fulfilled. Leave and I won't harm you." His voice was cold and ruthless.

"I-I can't just leave." _This is a chance to bring you back. To bring you to Naruto._

"You do not want to fight me."

Hinata shivered. She still remembered their fight back when she was a genin. She knew she was even now nowhere near his level. But if she could just catch him by surprise… If he underestimated her.

Seeing her take stance, he narrowed his eyes. She couldn't be serious. He could easily kill her. But did he need to? He smiled. Did he _want_ to?

"If that's your decision."

He jumped forward and attacked. She parried and dodged, but she wasn't finding a good moment to attack his tenketsu. He was fast and he could see what she was going to do next and easily avoided any contact with her chakra charged fingers. For now, he was sticking to only taijutsu, again. Was he mocking her? Re-enacting their training sessions from the past?

 _That means he's still underestimating me. I might be able to…_

While still concentrating on ducking his attacks, she also focused on the water found in the snow, trying to form chakra charged needles. When she felt enough control, she moved as if aiming for his heart and he dodged back. _An opening!_ She aimed the needles at the tenketsu in his legs. The water needles didn't deal enough damage to close the tenketsu as her hands would, but it still did enough damage to slow him down.

Sasuke winced noticing the small obstructure. _Sneaky, not bad. But it won't work a second time._

He was getting ready to prepare a huge attack when a huge sound stopped both in their tracks. Without noticing, while they fought the falling snow had intensified and now a snow storm was in full rage. The top of the mountain had broken and was now falling on them.

 _Kso!_ Thought Sasuke, and quickly scanning his surroundings he noticed a small cave not far from them. He grabbed Hinata who was still lost trying to identify the source of the noise and jumped into it. As soon as he did it, a huge amount of snow and rocks fell tumbling on the entrance and they were blocked inside it.

"W-why?" Started saying the kunoichi but he quickly stopped her as he heard another rumbling approaching. Before he could move, the rumble fell on them as they were still too near the entrance. He waited a moment before moving. All of his limbs seemed fine except one his legs that was sluggish from her attack.

He excavated his way out of the snow. Inside the cave everything was dark and he hit something soft. "Ouch" he heard back. He snapped his fingers so he could make a small flame to illuminate the space. He almost burned her cheek. Both ninjas were in a narrow space. He tsk'd and she understood he wanted her to move deep further. She crawled, and he followed behind. He realized too late that he was a bit too close to her when she suddenly stopped, and he hit her buttocks. Hinata reacted by trying to stand up and hit her head. It was still a small tunnel.

Rubbing her head and now putting a protective hand over her behind, she advanced slowlier until she finally noticed a big space. She let him go in front. His finger fire showed a round clearing with no exit. They were trapped. He looked at her, who was wondering what to do. _Are we still fighting? Why did he save me too?_ She seemed to ask herself.

"Truce for now. I don't want to stay stuck here for maybe days with a corpse."

"Okay, truce." She said after a bit of pondering and extended her hand. Sasuke looked at it and smirked, not deigning to take it. She flushed embarrassed and took it back.

"I'll go see the situation."

He went back the way they came in. The entrance was deeply blocked by several meters of snow. He wondered if he could just blast it away, but he considered that it could cause a landslip, and if the storm was still raging he wouldn't be able to flee swiftly with Taka.

"For now we are stuck here." He said and sat down across her.

"Yes, I could see with my Byakugan. The storm is getting stronger."

"We should lay low and wait for it to pass."

"B-but we don't have any food nor water."

"Do I look like I am unprepared?" He raised an eyebrow. He opened a pouch hidden beneath his black coat and she could see water and food rations.

Using a summoning spell on his arm, he brought wood and started a small fire. It illuminated the small clearing and he saw that she was curled clutching her arm and… tattered clothes.

"Those are your fighting attire?" He smirked.

"N-no! You attacked me while I was in the bath. I-I had no other clothes nearby." She blushed and tried to hide behind what was left of it, avoiding his mocking eyes.

"I didn't really attack you, I was just looking." He sais as-a-matter-of-factly.

She was about to protest when she realized he spoke the truth. She was the one who attacked him first. He threw her an amused look upon seeing her bewilderment. "I-it got stuck on some of the tree branches and that's why I-it's shredded now." She tried to justify. On her rush to follow him, she payed little attention to her garb. "I-it can still be saved..."

"With a _lot_ of sewing and stitching." He mocked, touching her skin on a place now exposed due to the tears.

Instinctively she retracted and tried to make herself even smaller, but ended up tearing more of the already destroyed fabric. His eyes trailed off to her exposed shoulders. Realizing her state, she blushed so brightly, he thought amused they wouldn't even need a fire anymore. Then he noticed she was also shaking and a filet of blood running down her arm.

"You're hurt?" He asked puzzled. He hadn't touched her during their fight, he had just teased her.

"I-It's just a w-wound that r-reopened." She said looking at it. She sighed and tore, albeit reluctant to destroy even more of the lent dress, what she could of the kimono to bandage it. She tied it with her teeth. "I-I'll h-have to a-apologize to h-hostess-san."

She whispered while sighing, and he noticed she was stuttering more and more. Even he was starting to get cold now that the adrenaline of the fight and escaping the storm was running down, and his wet clothes were starting to hurt his skin.

"I only have this much wood, so we better save it as much as we can. If you want to survive the cold, we'll have to use the best method to keep warm." He said, glaring to see if she understood what he meant.

Hinata seemed to be in deep thought and then blushed furiously. He almost laughed at how hilarious her reaction looked. It'd been a long time since the last time he felt like laughing.

"D-demo!" She started to protest but found no reasonable argument. So he started Hyuuga hid her face in shame, but she understood she didn't really have a choice. He could probably quickly dry his clothes and they should be warm enough for one person to deal with the cold, but she was almost completely naked with absolutely nothing to put on.

Reluctantly, she started taking the wet tissue of the kimono off. Sasuke stopped his movements to observe her smooth curves, mesmerized by the way the colors of the fire brought out her natural beauty and were transforming her into a mistery he desired to unravel. Her long hair covered her pale skin and it's movement made him remember when he once said as a child that he liked long-haired girls. At that age, he hadn't imagined how right he was upon seeing that midnight blue hypnotize his eyes with his wavy movements. His ears brought him back to the situation when he heard the sound of the girl's fingers poking each other.

"Hm-hm. C-could you s-stop l-looking at m-me?" Hinata said embarrassed, when she noticed he wasn't taking his eyes off of her.

Turning his back to hide his clouded state of mind, Sasuke aligned his clothes on the floor so they could dry, and with another scroll on his leg summoned a dry blanket.

"This is all I have to help us for now." And he threw it at her without a second glance.

* * *

Hinata was lying on her side against the hard floor of the rock cave, and her back was touching Sasuke's, sharing both their warmth. She had refused to share an embrace, although it would have been more efficient to heat themselves, since her lingerie was still damp. She was really thankful the Uchiha had at least kept his boxers, which unfortunately she had seen were black before he put out the fire to preserve the wood.

"This is not enough, you are still shivering and it's irritating." He said with only annoyance in his voice. She then felt him turn around and put his arms around her and his legs over hers. Sasuke's heart beat strongly against her back, and she could feel calloused fingers rub her arms trying to convey his warmth to her body. Hinata tried to protest but the warmth she felt against her skin was relieving. She decided it was useless to try to fight it and stupid to refuse it. In just two years, that boy she saw leave the village was almost a grown. Despite his choices, his voice and his actions; in that exact moment Hinata Hyuuga felt kindness in Sasuke Uchiha's touch.

Her face being the only thing burning hot, she ended up falling asleep in his arms. Exhaustion from the adrenaline, the cold and a long day had finally took the best of her. Though, in some way, she had also felt safe.

 **End of Chapter 1**

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

 ** _Thank you all for your reviews, I really take them to heart._**

 ** _As you can see, I ended up updating sooner! Upon seeing your feedback, I was really motivated to work faster and give you guys a taste of what the story is going to be since for now you can't really see it's shape. Still I hope you all will enjoy the read._**

 ** _I'm always open to critics, and leave your review so I can know what you think :)_**

 ** _Thank you for reading up till now!_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Sasuke had trouble closing his eyes. He was wondering if he was showing too much softness by being nice to this girl. _If I kill her, Konoha might become more of an annoyance to my plans._ He justified to himself. _Plus, she isn't annoying like most girls…_ Sensing that her shivering had stopped, he loosened his grip on her body and chose a more comfortable position to look at the face of his present companion. To his surprise, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully already. He smirked, even in the dark he could see the remnants of her crimson features. Laying his head down using his arm as a pillow, he noticed her long dark hair in contact with his body. It tickled him a bit, so he tried to move it, and found himself surprised at how silky it was. He played with it in his fingers and he could smell a soothing lavender aroma coming from it. It made him feel… appeased.

Suddenly, she moved and turned around. _Ts, she feels that safe in her sleep now? Did she forget who she is with?_ Hinata snuggled towards his torso and her face was aligned at the curb of his neck. He could feel her hot breathing against his skin.

 _Is she tempting me?_ The Uchiha wondered. Her generous-sized breasts were slightly pressed against his torso, and her legs stirred near his, looking for warmth. Her smooth skin was starting to torture his thoughts. Sasuke's body was starting to react to her movements in a way he was not really used to. Despite some attempts of Orochimaru to get him to 'release' himself with some of his students, he was never interested; why was his body playing him like that now?

The boy sighed and took a deep breath. He moved a flock of hair from Hinata's face gently. She looked so pure. He took the girl in his arms, _just to warm her._ Thankfully, her fragrance helped calm down his fast-beating heart. And since there was no need to keep watch, he slept.

* * *

When Hinata woke up, there was light and something hot near her cheek. Sitting up, her eyes were taking some time to get used to the light, so she firstly heard the sound of wood cracking, probably to the heat of flames. Then she noticed the shadows of the wall, and her surroundings. She was still trapped on the cave, but there was no sight of Sasuke. Yawning, she deduced he must be analyzing the entrance of the cave and the situation outside.

"Byakugan!" Activating her bloodline, she explored the outside world. Her range had significantly increased since her genin days, and she could easily see how the storm was still strongly raging outside. She scanned a bit more of the surroundings to be sure no one had been wounded or needed help. She sighed in relief when no soul was seen.

"Good morning sleepy-head." Sasuke said standing up from the small tunnel, his voice emotionless despite the familiar phrasing. "It's still bad outside, better not risk it right now… Specially with your clothes." Hinata swore she saw him smirk slightly when her cheeks flushed. She hugged the blanket closer to her body.

"I-I saw. I-It must be some time p-past noon outside." She avoided his eyes. He sat across from her, arms crossed, eyes closed, with a sheathed Kusanagi laying in front of him. She noticed he was fully clothed, which must mean their clothes were dry. She took what was left of the kimono and examined the state. She could probably make it wearable again if she had a bit of thread.

After a bit of hesitation, she had an idea she wanted to try. She saw no inconvenient to it and it would occupy her mind from the mildly awkward situation she found herself in by being in the company of the Avenger.

She moved to the entrance and grabbed a handful of snow. It melted as soon as it got near the fire, into a puddle of water. Concentrating, she quickly did some hand seals. Sasuke suddenly rose with his sword in hand, red eyes startled and alert.

"What are you doing?" He hissed.

"S-sorry. I s-should have warned you. I'm only go-going to use the n-needle to restore my kimono."

"Hn."

And he retrieved his initial position, but now eyes wide-open staring at her.

A bit flushed and flustered, Hinata tried to clear her mind and concentrate in her task. Controlling the water needle to sew would be a very delicate job and actually good training.

Sasuke observed carefully in silence. Her brows furrowed when she had trouble controlling the water, especially when she threw a glance at him to see if he was still watching. When she managed to pass the first thread, her eyes didn't waver anymore.

It was slow, but both had nothing better to do.

He watched her move slowly, but he didn't care for the job. The girl was… startling him again. It was an amazing show of chakra control. _She has really progressed._ He felt a bit of satisfaction, and mildly smiled internally. A drop of sweat lingered on her temple, the flames made her shadow tremble and dance, but the girl remained focused. He didn't notice when, but at some point he stopped simply watching and was slowly being taken in by her movements. Just like when he got too distracted when she was on the onsen and didn't hide his presence correctly, now he was completely mesmerized by everything she did, as if he was watching a performance.

He was shaken from his trance when she moved abruptly to wipe her forehead. She sighed and looked at him. When their eyes met, she smiled sweetly: Hinata was elated, she had almost finished. Sasuke flushed slightly and quickly turned away, leaving Hinata confused.

"A-ano, shouldn't we set aside some of the wood just in case?" She asked.

"Don't worry, I cut the log I showed you yesterday in four and wet them so they would burn slowly." He said still avoiding her eyes. "We are good for three more days. Although this one should be done soon. How is it outside?" Hinata quickly responded by using her power.

"S-still a strong storm, but it's almost dark." The small log had lasted several hours, " _Sasuke's chakra control must be amazing, to actually be able to diminish the fire's capacity to exhaust his carburant."_ Hinata realized. They were lucky a small breeze still managed to come from some holes in the cave, otherwise they could also run out of oxygen. The Hyuuga's observation were stomped when she felt something land on her lap.

"Your portion of the day. Savour it wisely." Sasuke said, chewing his own.

"T-thank you, S-Sasuke-san." She said, bowing.

"What have I already told you? Lose the san."

She looked puzzled and searched her memories of when he did. Remembering the night he did so, she smiled warmly at the memory, and even the cold Uchiha briefed a half-smile while they ate in silence.

Hinata's stomach still felt empty, but she was grateful the rogue-nin had been kind enough to share his food. They had gotten in this situation by being enemies, but he was doing more than just respecting their truce.

"Don't look at me like that. If I let you starve you might just go crazy trying to steal my food and I would end up killing you." _And end up with a corpse as company._ He finished in his mind. Why was he even explaining himself?

She nodded. Not much later, they solved their water problem thanks to Hinata extracting drinking water from the snow blocking the entrance, right before the fire died.

* * *

The cave had retained a good amount of heat, but just like the air that came in to supply them in oxygen, it also brought the cold with it. At the same time their eyes started growing accustomed to the just-befallen dark, the temperature dropped. Both ninjas approached one another shyly, until Hinata shared the blanket she had hurdled all day. Their shoulders touching, Sasuke couldn't stop himself from reliving all the feelings that had been rising since last night. And he noticed the Hyuuga was calm as a still water. Waiting to be rippled.

"Do you not fear me? I am an enemy of Konoha." He asked her. She smiled, only the light from her pale eyes bringing some brightness unto the dark. After a long pause, she finally parted her lips:

"You are Sasuke Uchiha. I don't know you that well, but I believe you are still a leaf ninja, a colleague who's… a bit lost." He noticed she didn't stutter.

"Because Naruto believes so?" He said sarcastically, remembering her fondness of his old blond teammate.

"No, Sasuke. I believe so." She held his gaze and he could see in plain sight the depths of those pale orbs despite the darkness surrounding them. He almost felt like the darkness emanated from him, and he tried to lean away from her. Hinata lifted her hand and placed it on his cheek, a simple and gentle gesture. Her palm was surprisingly soft for her profession, and it shared a warmth that didn't bring only heat. He couldn't explain what it was.

"As you said, you don't know me." He said dryly, and removed her hand. "Don't think you can do whatever you want because of the situation we're in. As soon as the storm lifts off, this peaceful time will be over."

"B-but, e-even if it's short-timed… why not enjoy it?" The sincere question in Hinata's voice took him by surprise. How could she be a ninja and still be so… innocent?

"I don't have time for distractions. I need to focus on my…"

"Your revenge." She finished his sentence, a heart-breaking sadness on her voice.

He didn't say anything else. They sat in silence for a long time. Until he felt her head fall on his shoulder.

"How have you managed to survive this far in this world?" He whispered, as he felt her chest rise and fall. He couldn't resist the urge and gently stroked her hair. As it did last night, the sweet fragrance released by her locks helped clear his mind and he quickly followed her example.

* * *

Their second day proceeded like the first one. The situation outside remained the same. The first half of the day, Hinata finished repairing her cloth, and Sasuke had nothing better to do than watch her do it.

When she finished it, she spread it in front of her to see if she hadn't missed a spot. Shyly, " _like pretty much everything she does" snorted Sasuke in his thoughts,_ she slid into the Japanese robe whilst turning her back on him. When he noticed what she was doing he couldn't help but note how well-shaped were her legs… and how just above was perfectly round.

Slightly flushed he covered his face with one hand and faced the other wall.

"You could've just asked me to look away." He said as-a-matter-of-factly. At the sound of his voice, Hinata jumped up from embarrassment and hit her head on the ceiling of the cave. She sat back down without having closed the kimono and rubbed her head to relieve the pain.

"H-hai. I'm sorry." She said. He sighed.

Upon being finally decently dressed, Hinata started to fret. She had nothing to occupy herself with for the rest of the day. The light of the fire was necessary to avoid putting too much stress on their minds from the captivity and narrow space; nevertheless, the dark protected her from feeling uncomfortable. Silence didn't seem awkward when they didn't stare at each other, and not seeing him made her feel more at ease to speak her mind.

"W-why don't you come back with me, Sasuke?" She uttered so weakly, he wasn't sure he was meant to hear her.

"For starters, how could I?" He answered dryly.

"Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei would all vouch for you. Tsunade-sama still believes in your reinstatement i-if you come back willingly. Your team would surely welcome you."

"And what? Naruto would be so happy you brought me back he'd fall in love with you? Or that way Sakura can still be all over me and Naruto will give up on her for you?" He snorted arrogantly.

"I-I don't want to help him or you to gain something in return!" Hinata retorted, her voice showing she felt deeply dishonored by his words. "I simply wish for everyone to be happy." She murmured. He waited to see what she would say, and being met with silence, he sighed for the hmpfth time.

"I can't. You know _why._ " He emphasized.

"You can become stronger in Konoha. You would even have trustful allies to help you…" Her voice started to gain strength as she tried to make her point. Sasuke cut her short.

"Not the allies I need. I need strong and ruthless. Not weaknesses and liabilities."

"Caring is not a liability or a weakness. The greatest powers came from caring." Hinata said defiantly. He jumped up to her and held her firmly by the neck against the wall. She gasped from surprise and he heard her moan from the pain, her small hands holding his arm, trying to weaken his grip.

"I have nothing else to lose. I already abandoned my life in that village."

"You are weak. You care too much. You are the proof there is a correlation." He watched her struggle meekly. "The world has been too kind on you." He said, releasing her. She rubbed her neck where he had held her. " _I_ have been too kind to you." He said on a lower tone.

"If the world can be kind, then it means it doesn't have to be such a bad place, Sasuke." She murmured knowing he could hear her. "Just like you don't need to be a bad person." She completed, and he noticed her eyes still hadn't wavered. He tried to intimidate her.

Hinata felt immobilized, she couldn't move anymore, her body was frozen. Her vision was weird… darkened, blurry she couldn't really see anymore. In her confusion, all she felt was several hands touching her, ripping her clothes and exploring her body against her will. She wanted to scream and cry out but her voice didn't come out.

Finally everything became clear again, the fire was in front of her and her voice came back. She was crying and panting, gasping for air and clutching her chest for her heart to calm down. _It had been a genjutsu._

"There are worse things than death that can happen to naïve girls like you." Sasuke said, his back turned to her.

She wiped her tears and tried to restrain her panic. It had been the worst sensation she had ever felt, worse than any physical pain… and it had only lasted a few seconds.

"I am a monster. Don't mistake me for something else."

" T-that's n-not true." She uttered, still shaking from the shock. "Y-you could've p-placed me under a genjutsu from the start i-if you r-really wanted me to l-leave you in p-peace." She said. "I-I b-believe in t-the one who helped me train two years a-ago. The k-kid who couldn't sleep b-because he had nightmares. Y-you are not free from t-them yet, are you?"

Sasuke looked at her, quite surprised. He had given her a tremendous shock, and she still thought good of him. She was also right, why had he not thought of placing her in a genjutsu from the start? It would've been less troublesome. _But he didn't really want to._ And it had been only two nights, but it was the only two nights he hadn't had _that_ dream. Since he left Konoha to follow his path as an Avenger, he did not have a single night of real rest. And only now did he realize how well he had slept despite the hard rocks.

"You are exasperating." He murmured. _I'm sorry._ He thought but did not really have the courage to say. He finally looked at her after placing her under his jutsu. She was finally calm. Traces of her tears were still on her cheek, but she looked at him with hope in her eyes. How could she? He didn't know, so he sat back down right beside her, and wiped a lingering tear. She smiled sweetly, and his heart flustered. How could she be so forgiving? He couldn't stand to look at her and not feel guilty at the moment. Instead he hid cowardly and crossed his arms and closed his eyes. His usual position. And said nothing more.

Not long after, the fire went out and left then in darkness. When she finally fell asleep, this time her head resting on the cave's wall, he opened his eyes. He took of his coat and put it behind her head as a pillow. "I'm sorry." He finally said out loud. Maybe he did still have something to lose after all.

* * *

Hinata woke up and he she was alone. She felt a strong cold wind hit her face, alongside with light; except this time there was no warmth. She looked around, Sasuke wasn't there anymore. Except she was still covered by the blanket and she finally noticed his coat had been added over it as an extra layer. She quickly got up and scanned the surroundings: she couldn't find him with her Byakugan, he was out of range. Hinata blinked and cursed herself. He had to have been very fast, since the cold wind woke her up almost as soon as it got in. His tracks had been covered. Probably by himself and helped by the light snow falling now instead of the huge storm. She cursed herself, she had let him escape.

She sighed and got up. He had left his coat for her. And inside it Hinata found the rest of his food. The kunoichi smiled. She was right. There was still hope for him, despite what the Uchiha himself thought.

After eating and drinking a bit to recover her strength, she started to prepare to go back. She decided she was not in shape to try to track him down, especially if he had allies nearby waiting for him. Her mission now was to go back and join her team. _Kiba must be out of his mind, he's going to lecture me. Even Shino is going to…_ She thought, feeling bad for making them worry. She stretched and felt how sore her muscles were from staying in a small space all this time, and from sleeping on hard rock for several nights. Blushing a bit, she put on Sasuke's coat. She could smell faintly his peculiar fragrance and felt embarrassed, but grateful.

Upon reaching the entrance, she studied the walls. There were several small scorch marks on the rock. Sasuke had probably every morning used his fire breath to melt down little by little the snow blocking the way out, avoiding the risk of putting too much stress and make it all fall down. Finally outside, despite the cold breeze, Hinata breathed in the cold fresh air and basked under the sunlight.

"Let's go back now." She said determined, and rushed back to the village.

Even before she could reach the gates, she was met with a huge dog that jumped on her. He opened his big jaw and she was met with a huge tongue that licked her whole face.

"Akamaru, stop! Hinata! Are you okay?" Yelled Kiba, who was riding his partner. Shino was right behind them.

Hinata got up and caressed the ninja pet.

"H-hai Kiba-kun…" She said, and before anything else, he hugged her tightly.

"Thank god! We were insane looking for you! There was the huge storm so we couldn't really move around and!"

"Kiba stop, you are smothering her." Said calmly Shino.

"Oh yeah, sorry." He took a step back and grinned with a hand on Akamaru. The dog was shaking his tail wildly, glad to have found their teammate.

"What happened Hinata?" Asked Shino calmly. She knew that if he was the one asking, instead of just waiting for her to tell, was because he had also been worried sick.

"I'll explain on the way. For now, I really need a good meal and a hot bath."

* * *

After indulging her with delicious food and after being finally clean, team 8 set off to Konoha. Hinata apologized to their host for ruining the kimono, but the old lady only laughed it off and told her to keep it if she still wanted it. The good woman had almost cried from relief when she saw Hinata was back safe and sound.

"I just sent word to Tsunade that we're coming back now. I'll let you explain to her what happened. Anyway, there would've been no way for us to head back before due to the storm." Briefed Kiba. "The Uchiha really did nothing weird to you?" He asked, concerned.

Hinata shook her head. "No, as you can see I'm okay."

"Well, that's… good." The team leader said while looked puzzled. "Well, let's head back."

The way back went swifter than the going. Once arrived, they headed straight to the Hokage's office. Tsunade was quite intrigued by Hinata's narrative.

"Hmm, and you were not harmed, not even during your fight?"

"No, madam."

"Interesting." Said Tsunade, with both her hands in front of her face, her elbows resting on the table. The Hokage sighed and looked out the window of her office before going back to the girl in front of her. "I'll inform Kakashi of this encounter. However, I prefer if you would keep it a secret from anyone else. It would only fluster Sakura and fire up Naruto…" She informed team 8. "But in a way these are good news. Thank you for your hard work. You are dismissed."

The trio nodded and left the building to go rest.

Each one went their way, however Hinata lingered a bit longer on the streets. The day was beautiful. She hoped someone else would notice the beauty of sunshine wherever they were.

"Oh Hina-chan, how are you? Just got back from a mission?" A loud voice rang behind her. She jumped up and immediately turned red upon recognizing it.

"Ah, y-yes! Naruto-kun!" She squeaked.

"Lucky! I'm heading out now, and I can't be late. Yamato is really not like Kakashi-sensei hehe." He laughed. "Tell me another time how it was." He said and started to leave.

"A-ano, Naruto-kun!" She called. The blond-haired boy stopped to listen to her. "E-err…" She hesitated. She knew he would want to know that she saw Sasuke, but she couldn't disrespect direct orders from the Hokage. "I-I just wanted to tell you… that I also believe in Sasuke-kun. I'll do w-whatever I can to help you bring him back."

Naruto looked startled. Then a wide grin spread on his face, a hopeful grin. "Thanks Hinata! You'll see, he'll be back soon enough, dattebayo!" And he rushed with a huge smile to his meeting.

She smiled back and felt better having at least shared her support with Naruto.

Maybe Sasuke really had nothing left to lose, because some things can never be lost.

 **End of Chapter 2**

* * *

 ** _Author's note:_**

 ** _Thank you for your comments, your follows and most of all I really hope you are enjoying the read._**

 ** _I am still having a hard time describing the scenes I imagine happening in my mind, so I am always open to criticism._**

 ** _R &R because it's always a pleasure to see your comments :)_**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Sasuke was restless. He couldn't sleep once again, ever since that incident. He often caught himself remembering those three nights, despite trying to just leave it behind. When he got back from his last mission, Orochimaru asked him how it went.

" _What took you so long, my dear Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru hissed, his snakelike tongue dancing out of his mouth._

" _You sent me there too late. The package was already secured, and your orders were to not cause a disturbance in the city." Sasuke answered curt and short._

" _And why did you come back only now?" He asked with a cunning smile._

" _The snow storm had me blocked for some days."_

" _And nothing interesting happened during that time?"_

" _No." Sasuke turned his back to leave when he saw the pale man form a sly smile._

" _Hmm, I also did not expect you to fail… What a disappointment my sweet Uchiha." He whispered, knowing Sasuke would hear him anyway. "Maybe I should concentrate agan in getting the older brother as a vessel." The last comment made Sasuke stop._

" _Then you would end up regretting passing on the best one." He retorted glaring straight into the sannin's eyes before leaving towards his chambers._

 _Sasuke could hear Orochimaru's laugh echo on the rocks of their present hideout. It made his skin crawl a bit; he never could get used to that sly man, and even more so he was always on alert under his roof._

Afterwards, he had not told anyone about his time spent with Hinata, since anyway he did not have anyone to do so and it wasn't something he'd think to share. It even bothered him to think that Orochimaru could even be interested in studying the Byakugan and Hinata was a good choice for a captive. She was naïve and weak. He smirked at her strategy attack to his leg. _Maybe not that weak._

Sasuke shook his head to get those thoughts out. He shouldn't mind about any of that, but at least he didn't want to be an instigator on another of Orochimaru's test subjects.

Once again he couldn't get some rest. Some time had passed since _then_ already, and he was bothered by his lack of sleep. He only realized upon coming back to Orochimaru's lair how well he had rested despite being on hard rock, low temperature and lacking food. Maybe that mountain had some natural properties? Or more probably the company…

He got up and cursed.

Before he could start to vent his anger, someone knocked on his wooden door. He hesitated and activated his sharingan.

"Come in." He grunted. The door opened slowly and shyly. Through the small opening he could see a girl cowering outside. "What do you want?" He asked, deactivating his bloodline.

"H-hmm… Orochimaru sent me, to help you… decompress." She said with a small smile. "I'm Harumi."

He looked at her. She fidgeted, nervous under his glare. She looked young but older than him. She had mid-length brown hair tied in a braid. Her breasts were generous despite her slenderness, and she wore a simple dress exposing attractive bits of her tanned skin. Sasuke really needed a good night sleep again. Maybe Orochimaru was giving him the answer.

"Come in."

The girl opened a bright smile and did as asked. She closed the door behind her, and started to undress.

Somewhere not far, Orochimaru was satisfied. His Sasuke was growing, and soon he'd be ripe for the taking.

* * *

Ever since Sasuke had accepted Harumi's work, Orochimaru often sent him more and more offers of the like. They weren't always working women, sometimes it was some of his other acolytes or Sound-nin apprentices that didn't mind playing around with the rogue Konoha ninja. He would often accept, sometimes dismissing them when he didn't feel like it. He was never gentle, oftentimes rough but none of them seemed to mind. He'd met with girls his age, older experienced woman, blondes, brunettes, tall and short. It never made a difference to him and he never got attached to any. Of course, he avoided any that he would most seemingly be prone to meet again, and Orochimaru was already careful against that kind of thing. He was aware that it would only make him more irritated.

However, all of it only helped him work out a bit of his pent-up stress from training but did not bring him one night of good rest.

It was starting to frustrate him. Despite being used to having restless nights, the fact he had managed for three days in uncomfortable conditions to feel so good made him bitter. He had an idea of what factor had made it so, and it made it all the more irritated that it was _her._ A person. He already had a bond difficult to get rid of with his former teammate and rival, Naruto. And now he couldn't let another person hinder his judgement and his path to his revenge. He needed to focus on Itachi. _I need to get rid of her._ He needed to go to Konoha.

* * *

Hinata was sitting below a tree. It was a beautiful day at Konoha, the sky was bright and clear as she was reading a book on Healing Ninjutsu. Since the sun was high into the sky, she let her pale features bask under its light, while a very small shadow covered the other side of the tree. She was interested in being a medic-nin but had not yet had the courage to ask to do it. For now, she focused on being as strong as possible before choosing that way.

Training had been tough that day, Kurenai was pushing them more and more, specially Kiba. He was supposed to follow his mother and sister's footsteps as the elite of tracking, but Akamaru was sometimes too soft or too distracted. Given their team skills, Team 8, if well-trained, could be a serious advantage for Konoha as hunters.

Hinata still needed to train more her range and to manage her awareness of everything. It had been exhausting on her chakra, since she also tried some healing techniques on wild animals on her free time. Kiba usually went home quickly to take care of _his_ wild companion and Shino never lingered when he knew that there was nothing else to do.

And Hinata liked going near a certain training ground and rest.

Nonetheless, the Hyuuga girl sighed. Time was wearing her. It had been a while since she last met Sasuke and she was working her brain off on ideas on how to bring him back. She was almost certain that bringing him back by force would be impossible for her and extremely difficult even for the best. But upon seeing his gentle side weeks ago, Hinata believed that the Uchiha that Naruto believed in was there, struggling.

" _Convincing him would be best. There must be a way to reach him."_ She thought and exhaled. _"But how could I ever influence him? As if what_ I _could say mattered."_ And she let her head fall in defeat.

Before negative thoughts started to flow into her head, she shook herself and placed both her hands on her cheeks decidedly. "I can still find something to help!"She exclaimed to herself as motivation. _"But the question is still what…"_

As the pale girl underwent her several change of spirits, a shadow formed on top of her. Surprised, she looked up.

"Hey there!" Shouted the blond-haired man.

"N-naruto-kun!" Exclaimed the shocked girl all red when he fell right in front of her, his face downwards in front of her since he was hanging by his feet from a tree branch.

"How-" was all the jinchuuriki would mutter before Hinata passed out from the so much heat.

"You should be more careful about the sun if you have sensitivity to heat." Hinata heard as she was blinking before really opening her eyes. Blurry features were still all she could see, but she could easily distinguish the features of the man she admired. He was offering her a bottle of water. "You better now?" He asked, amused and concerned at the same time.

"A-arigato Naruto-kun." She said faintly, trying to pull her voice out of her shyness.

"It's not the first time I see you pass out. Or be all red. Maybe you should wear less coats in the summer, it might even give you a different look, hehe." The reckless boy said without thinking how his words might be taken. Hinata blushed fiercely.

"M-maybe." She answered. "H-how long was I out?"

"Five or ten minutes. Don't worry, I was here alongside you all the time." He grinned widely. Her blush intensified, although she didn't think it was possible. "Wow, you sure you're not sick? You are crazy red." He asked as he put his hand to her forehead.

"Na- ano-neh" She muttered and stumbled on her words as her head span crazily. _"He's touching me! He watched over me! Naruto-kun is so close!"_ So many thoughts were spiraling inside her head, she was at a loss. _"BREATHE!"_ She ordered herself.

Hinata brought a hand to her chest to help control the rise of her chest as she breathed deeply to calm herself, while Naruto was still touching her forehead with the back of his hand. It certainly did not help the heat on her face diminish as he was in contact with her skin, but slowly she regained composure.

"I'm s-sorry Naruto-kun." She said slowly and smiled sweetly. "Thank you again. How was your mission?" She managed to utter without stuttering.

"It went well!" The blond ninja hesitated a little before answering observing her change of spirit. "Some trouble here or there but that's usual! Yamato-sensei is quite good at handling us, hehe." He said with his usual sheepish grin taking over his face.

"I'm happy to hear that." Hinata commented, laughing sweetly, raising a hand over her mouth.

"Ano, Hina-chan… I heard your team has been working a lot with tracking skills. I came to see you because I am still, you know…" He trailed off while scratching the back of his head, a bit uneasy.

"H-hai." She answered, looking shyly at the grass.

"Sasuke needs to come back. And I promised Sakura-chan. I might look obstinate to you by insisting but!"

"N-no! Not at all. It's commendable. A-and we'd be happy to help however we can." She smiled.

"Thanks Hinata! I have to go now, but tomorrow I'll come by your house and we'll discuss more about details! I'm trying to talk Tsunade-baachan into letting us go in a mission soon to try to track him down, and the more people are good to go, the better! That teme will be here quickly enough and I'll quick his ass for ever leaving, dattebayo!" And the energetic Uzumaki left in high spirits.

Hinata watched his back not moving an inch from her spot and smiled as the breeze caressed her skin. It was still hot where the oblivious boy had touched. The Hyuuga closed her book, that had remained open, gathered her stuff and headed back to her home.

* * *

Sasuke knew the way like the back of his hand. It had become easy to memorize paths due to the constant changing of hideouts, and he always kept an eye on how close he was to Konoha, since they could be a huge hinderance to his plans.

When leaving, he told Orochimaru he had something to take care of. His present sensei only smiled and told him to take his time. He was only a day and a half from his destination thanks to his speed. It had always been easier to move alone.

Sasuke had planned to get there hidden under the cloak of darkness. He rested some hours during the night before moving again, never having his guard off. Orochimaru had taught him some of his best infiltration techniques, and as such, even Konoha's Anbu elite shouldn't be able to sense him. Sasuke cursed mentally: Hinata noticing him that night had been a stupid mistake.

He was arriving soon. The teen Uchiha recognized the woods the young Uchiha had used to train with his former Team 7 teammates. He slowed down to look at a tree where he and Naruto usually competed when doing exercises. His hand trailed over the scars they had left, kunai and shuriken marks to see who was best. He closed his eyes. _"That's not me anymore."_ It seemed so long ago, almost like another life.

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes reopened, glowing red and filled with a dark determination. He came here to do something, and nothing was going to stop him.

The rogue ninja felt the presence of the squad guarding Konoha's surroundings, and easily managed to slip through their watch. He hid in the darkness, despite the full moon shining highly into the sky. He decided to stop at the Uchiha headquarters. He jumped from the building to the ground without making a single sound. He was surprised to see that only a bit of dust rose from his movement. As if the place was quite well-maintained… He tsked. Who would bother themselves with taking care of this abandoned place. Sasuke stopped in front of his house and stared at the Uchiha symbol. The youngest of the family, he was. He touched the entrance door, and flinched, his hand hesitating. He just couldn't go in there. Not yet. Not before avenging those that perished in there; not before avenging his family.

He was the youngest Uchiha, the one that was spared. And he was the one to put an end to the downfall of his family.

XXXXX

Sasuke had easily infiltrated the Hyuuga compound. The way they relied on their eyes made it easy to put them under genjutsu. Nonetheless, he felt a bit drained. The Byakugan was a very good defense against illusion techniques, so he had to use high-skilled jutsus to stop them from realizing it. Lucky for him, it wasn't the strongest Hyuuga's that did guard duty. They must be more lax thinking they are quite safe in Konoha's borders. He smirked, satisfied with himself. With the exception of his chakra nearing exhaustion, everything had been quite easy until now.

The Uchiha finally found what he was looking for. Or rather, who. He knew he was in the right place simply by instinct.

He opened the window to the room he wanted, slowly, without letting it make a sound, and jumped in.

The chamber was simple. It had a traditional style: a tatami floor, and with sliding paper-screen as a door to the inside of the compound. She had only a small wardrobe, and an apothecary table that seemed to be used to make ointments and powders.

The intruder analyzed carefully every inch of the room. Sasuke didn't know why but he was intrigued.

Finally, his eyes laid upon the petite figure on the bed. Due to the warm weather, Hinata was covered only with a white sheet. With the light of the sky, he could see through it and that she was wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts. Her breathing was calm, evenly. Sasuke stared at her. His mind that had been overflowing with many kinds of thoughts, suddenly went blank. The Uchiha blinked twice before understanding the feelings that took over him. Peace. He wasn't frowning, he wasn't making his usual mean face, he was _serene_.

The warmth that took over him was something he had not felt in a long time and suddenly all he felt was exhaustion, like all his fatigue that had been accumulated was finally telling him: now is the time to rest.

Hinata stirred in her sleep. She was feeling uneasy, feeling something was wrong. She sat on her bed and saw her window was open. She quickly grabbed the kunai she hid under her pillow while waiting for her eyesight to adjust.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." She heard the darkness say. Hinata recognized it immediately.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She said, incredulous. "W-what are you doing in my room? What about the sentinels?"

"They're okay. Only under an illusion." He answered, watching her with scrutiny. She had not asked with fear, nor with dread, as if she already knew he wouldn't have killed them. She was too naïve. Too pure.

"Not a bad one, I suppose." She stated, while putting her weapon down. Why was se relaxing? Has she really just believed him like that? Sasuke was incredulous at how trusting this woman was.

"No, just a loop of a peaceful night of watch. No events to remember." Sasuke let his own guard down and let his body fall against the wall. And closed his eyes.

Hinata hesitated. She had been brooding all afternoon thinking on how to convince the Avenger to abandon his quest or at least to do it by his Konoha's teammates side, and now he was right in front of her and she still did not know how to do. Violence was useless, as she had already decided earlier.

Why was he here? What did he want? He did not seem to be on a mission nor seemed to have any hostile intentions. For now, she should just focus on getting to know him. Maybe that was all he needed.

"Are you okay, Sasuke?" She asked, tilting her head. She looked like a caring dog wondering about his master. Sasuke sighed, the girl was exasperating.

"Kinda."

"Can I help you?"

"Maybe." Sasuke was sitting on the floor, and as he answered her he rested his arms on his knees and looked up at the ceiling.

"W-what are you doing in my room?" Hinata hesitated as she asked, fidgeting her fingers from nervousness. She felt it was unpolite to ask too many questions, however she couldn't stop herself: she also sensed that they needed to be said.

"Sincerely, I don't know." The Uchiha finally exclaimed, annoyed. "I came here looking to get peace of mind since the last time we met at the mountain and I don't know exactly what I have to do now."

Hinata didn't know what to say, and Sasuke remained quiet after answering. She turned, and placed her weapon back to its place and rearranged her sheets. The Hyuuga teenage girl was slowly starting to realize the situation she was in. On the one hand, she had a most wanted, dangerous and extremely capable ninja right in front of her; while on the other hand she was on her summer pajamas, _without a bra,_ with another teenage boy in the middle of the night. First talking to Naruto this afternoon, and now Sasuke Uchiha: her stress levels and bloodflow would end up bursting at one point.

"What about you? How come you aren't doing anything?" The male ninja suddenly asked coldly.

"I-I don't know w-what I can do…" She stuttered nervously. "I-I am physically exhausted, My chakra is a-almost depleted from strenuous training, and my eyes are also needing to rest. A-and even if I was a-at my top form I am aware that y-you would restrain me from t-trying to alert your presence, o-or kill me if I actually tried t-to." She tried to explain calmly. "B-but, the m-most important reason is t-that I think neither of those are the b-best solution." She threw him a small smile, taking him by surprise. She was a ninja, if she really thought he was a threat to the village, she would've gladly risked her life to at least sound the alarm. Conversely, Hinata had already assessed that it was not the case. He was here for another reason.

They stared at each other for a while, until Hinata averted her eyes, too intimidated to continue. She held up her hand to her lips, nervous, and started biting them. Sasuke watched her struggle and got up. He moved towards her and slowly got on top of her on the bed. As he approached her, she started bending backwards, trying to stay away from him, his gaze overwhelming her. It seemed an eternity until she felt her head hit the pillow and she had no more place to retreat to. Sasuke brought his face right in front of her, his lips and inch away from hers, his stare never wavering. Hinata could smell the forest scent, the male sweat and the boy's own fragrance when she inhaled. It stirred something in her, a feeling of longing she had not yet felt nor understood exactly what it was. She held her breath and swallowed dry.

"S-sa-" She opened her mouth to say, but was interrupted.

"Shut up." Sasuke said slowly. His lips were so close to hers that as he spoke Hinata could feel them lightly brush her own. "Just sleep."

And the teenage boy dropped to her side, turning his back to her. Hinata stood frozen. Her heart was beating incredibly fast, so many sensations overflowing her. She looked at the back of his wild hair, his back slightly exposed by his shirt and she couldn't help but admire his figure. The Hyuuga girl knew she was scarlet and breathed deeply to calm down once more. However, could she really share a bed with a boy? Specially in her own bedroom, in her own household with her father so near? " _He can have the bed_ ", she thought, and started to get up.

"Move and I'll restrain you to your own bed." The boy next to her said threateningly.

Hinata swallowed once more and went back to her original position. She was too tired to fight, to argue. If he really had wanted to hurt her, he could easily have done it on several occasions by now. There was no point in struggling. Maybe she should just sleep. Hinata sighed and turned to sleep on her side, her back barely touching the Uchiha's.

Sasuke felt her inner struggle and it amused him. He smirked seeing her reaction to sharing a bed with him, but felt satisfied that she decided not to make too much of a scene. When he had gotten too close to her a few moments ago, he had almost lost control of himself. This girl was too enticing to him, she appealed to many sides of himself that he didn't know how to control. His body had reacted on its own, and he had to stop it before she realized his situation _down there_. Seeing how innocent she looked and probably was, that was something she would probably scream about.

Anyhow, he was slowly letting himself be swallowed by all the accumulated fatigue, and that feeling of exhaustion took over all of his being. He came to have a peace of mind. And now he felt like it been a long time since he'd felt that comfortable going to sleep.

Sasuke waited till he was sure Hinata was sleeping and turned around. He looked at her sleeping face, like he did those nights in the cave. He let his nostrils be invaded by that delicious lavender scent… and he resisted the urge to touch them, play with them. Sasuke struggled hard the need to caress her pure skin, luckily not yet damaged by her profession, and for once in such plain sight. His eyelids became heavy, and the Avenger felt a slumber befall him as peaceful as when he was a baby.

* * *

Something woke him up, an annoying feeling rising on his chest. Through the window they had left open, a ray of sunlight trespassed the calm room. Only Hinata's soft breaths could be heard. During the night she had tossed and turned a bit, and she now was facing him. Sasuke stood up and realized that he undressed during the night. He wasn't going to let such a detail stop him from having the best night's sleep he'd had in a long time. He smirked thinking about her reaction. Strangely for a ninja, she seemed quite the heavy sleeper as she did not wake up while he moved. Although he knew that already from last time.

He stretched, feeling completely renewed and rested. He'd slept well and soundly. That's what he needed. Not different kinds of sex or woman in his bed. It was her. Her fragrance, her silhouette. She…

He noticed again that annoying feeling. It was getting stronger. It took Sasuke a while to notice what it was. Who it was. Another person that was capable of bringing unique sensations to his body. His eyebrow twitched. "Naruto."

Why was he coming to the Hyuuga compound? What business could he possibly have? Was it Hinata or Neji? The thought of Naruto coming to see Hinata at this hour specially put him in a foul mood. He threw a look to the sleeping girl once more and remembered she had feeling for the blond Uzumaki. Sasuke felt a pang in his heart.

"Enough. You have felt too much. It's time to go back."

The Avenger got dressed and headed to the window. Before leaving he had stolen one of Hinata's ointments. Not for its utility, since he had recruited Karin, but just because. He looked at her once more before hearing the irritating voice call for Hinata's name from afar. He knew he had to undo the genjutsu or Naruto would know he was/had been there.

Angry for having to leave abruptly and not at a pace nor a way he desired, he decided to disturb the poor girl. He smirked, satisfied with his little revenge.

* * *

Hinata woke up with someone of her family knocking on her door. She stirred desperately remembering what had happened last night. She calmed down when she noticed she was alone in the room. Had it been a dream? Hinata shook her head. The smell on her pillow made it clear it had not been.

Her attending knocked once more. She got up and opened slightly the door, so that only her face could be seen.

"Yes?" She asked, with an awkward smile.

"Good morning Hinata-sama. Naruto Uzumaki is waiting for you at the gate." He said bowing and left.

Hinata blushed. And then turned white. How could she face Naruto after meeting Sasuke once more and not being able to do anything? She felt frustrated with herself. Was she really only supposed to be a useless puppet? Not being able to help the people she wanted to? She fell to the ground.

Then she looked up in front of her and saw one of her drawers open. _"Wait, is it my…?"_ Hinata turned red once more as she approached to close it. It was her lingerie drawer. _"What a pervert! H-How dare he! I'll track him down and teach to respect a woman's privacy!"_ She thought furious. _"B-but he saw my underwear… how could I ever look him bravely in the eye again."_ Now she was too embarrassed.

Hinata Hyuuga really needed to start controlling her changing state of spirits.

 **End of Chapter 3**

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_

 ** _Hello again! I'm sorry for being a week late, but this chapter was kind of hard to write. Hope you'll enjoy it anyway. I decided for once to end it more on a comic note since nothing is ever always brooding, dark and sad. Good things happen too, and that's what Sasuke needs to notice ;)_**

 ** _Leave a review to tell me what you though of it, I'm also open to ideas and suggestions._**

 ** _Every time I see a comment it boosts me and motivates me to write, so thank you for all that have supported me with your words, follows and favorites._**


	5. Chapter 4

Hello! So first of all, before getting to the story, sorry for being late with the chapters. I'm having some huge blanks about the story so I'm trying to re-read as to insert the scenes I want as believable as possible in the main storyline. Plus, the new semester is up and work too.

Second of all: I understand that a lot of you didn't like Sasuke sleeping around. Yes, it is distasteful since his first time with Hinata would've been much sweeter had it been both their firsts. However, one of the main points of these characters is that either they don't realize they like the other (Hinata) or they are in denial of that feeling (Sasuke). My analysis of these characters in _this_ story is that he felt a longing, a whole after spending time with Hinata and couldn't even imagine that this feeling was love for her. In his head, it seemed more plausible for it to be a sex urge, a need of company or just a woman's presence. But as we can see, in the end he gets a hint that what he was missing, what he was needing wasn't just _any_ woman's attention, and that sex had nothing to do with it. For now, and for most of Naruto Shipuuden Sasuke's character is mostly dark, confused, with hints of the person Naruto knows he can be and ends up being.

So that's it. That is _my_ interpretation which I thought my be interesting to share; I respect if you have another one, and be it of the characters or even of my story. The beauty in fiction is that it can have several shapes for whoever is reading it. It might make it better, worse or just what fits best to your mind.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Once again Sasuke came back to the lair only to be straight up face to face with Orochimaru. As if the sannin had been waiting anxiously his return…

"So Sasuke-kun, how was your trip?" He asked, always his playful tongue hovering near Sasuke's face.

"Uneventful." He answered, flicking away the snake-like part.

"You sure? I understand you were very-well accompanied during the night."

"I don't see what you mean." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, suddenly very aware of his master's presence.

"Oh nothing. Just teasing you."

"Stop." The Uchiha uttered harshly.

"As usual, you forget who you are talking to." Kabuto showed up from the shadows, probably listening in from the start. "Be more respectful of Orochimaru-sama."

"Hmpf. I'm ready to resume training immediately. Don't keep me waiting." Sasuke tsked.

"Sure Sasuke-kun. I'll just discuss with Kabuto some interesting ideas I'm having about research on other eye bloodlines… And what test subjects would be interesting."

"Hurry." The Avenger hissed before leaving.

"Did you know that women are very good for experimentation? You can have them multiply the subjects… Or even modify their progeniture during gestation. However, they are hardly very resilient to physical pain, despite having strong mental fortitude. It's good to try on one that has been trained… like a clan heir. Groomed to be strong."

Sasuke knew what he was hinting at. And he did not like it. He shot Orochimaru a deadly glance. The sannin shivered of fear, but also of elation.

" _Soon, very soon his body will be mine."_ Orochimaru thought, excited. _"All that power…"_

"Careful what you plan. Should you really have your mind distracted right now?" Sasuke threatened. "Also, stop sending people to my room. I have no interest in it." _Not anymore_ , he ascertained as he clutched the female piece of clothing in his hand.

"So many will be disappointed…" Orochimaru complained in a what-can-you-do tone.

Their three years time was slowly coming to an end, and one of them had to make the first move.

* * *

Hinata was walking very slowly towards the flower shop.

That morning, the Hyuuga firstborn had been very embarrassed to meet up with Naruto after having spent the night with another boy. Especially since that boy was his former best friend, the one person the jinchuuriki was trying so hard to save.

Some time had passed since then, but she still felt guilty towards the honor she was due to her family name, but she felt ten times guiltier by not telling Naruto everything. She sighed, depleted. Not knowing what to do with that kind of information was wearing her. If Tsunade-sama caught wind, she could be considered a traitor to Konoha for not sharing valuable information on the activities of a person of interest. However, it had been an intimate private moment… She blushed, then shook her head. On the other hand, she had re-pictured the whole night on her head and she did not see any valuable information. Was she wrong by wanting to keep it to herself?

"Good morning Hinata! Why are you all red?" She recognized Ino's voice behind her. "Is Naruto around?" The blonde girl whispered in Hinata's ear making the shy girl jump up.

"N-n-no! I was just… in deep thought." She replied, avoiding eye contact and playing with her fingers. She remembered Ino had also been in love with Sasuke-kun, making her feel guiltier.

"Oh, I see-e-e." Ino singed the last word, and giggled. She thought Hinata's way of loving Naruto was very cute, despite not knowing what she saw in him, she was happy now that someone had recognized him long before the whole village did. Naruto himself might not know it, but he had a supportive shadow for a long time. "Where are you headed?"

"To yo-your family's flower shop. For…" Hinata looked down.

"Oh. I see." Ino's face closed up immediately, despite her doing her best to not let the sadness overflow. "I'll come with you, help you choose." She said with a small smile and took the lead. Hinata followed. "I had to come pick up a few things before meeting up with Shikamaru anyway." Ino had always preferred to be a chatter box.

The bell from the shop seemed to ring louder than usual, when Ino opened the door with her key. No one was in there at the time, it would've been closed if Hinata did not run into Ino.

"My parents must be preparing an event." She explained. "Come with me to the back of the shop, I think we might have exactly what you need there."

"Thank you." Hinata whispered.

"Did you have an idea in mind of what you want?"

"A-a small one" Hinata replied and Ino looked delighted. She was very happy to help.

* * *

After paying and leaving Ino, Hinata decided to head straight to deliver the flowers. Despite being beautiful the bouquet felt heavy on her hands. She knocked on the door.

"Yes, I'm coming."

Kurenai opened the door in casual clothes. She was wearing a black dress, with a small cleavage. Her flaming-ruby eyes landed on Hinata's pale lavender and her student could tell she had recently cried.

"Oh, hi Hinata. Thank you for passing by." The jounin smiled warmly. "Come in, please."

"Thank you, sensei."

Hinata walked in and looked around discreetly. She could see a picture of Kurenai with Kakashi and Asuma on the desk. On another furniture, she noticed a photo of Kurenai and Asuma smiling like two love-birds.

"These are for you, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata handed her the flowers. "Kiba-kun and Shino-kun couldn't come right now, but they'll come to see you soon. We wanted you to know we…"

"I know, Hinata. Thank you." Kurenai took the bouquet and headed to the kitchen to find a place to settle them. "What are they?"

" _I think she a-already got many lilies. I wanted an a-arrangement of flowers t-that could tell her h-how we all feel. L-like these carnations." Hinata said blushing. She didn't know much about other flowers than the medicinal ones she grew in her garden._

" _Red carnation evokes admiration and pink ones stand for remembrance. Sounds perfect."_

" _It might just be…" Hinata acquiesced approaching the flowers and smiling faintly. "I also wanted something for her new start." She looked up to Ino, asking for information. Ino looked around and then gasped when she found what she was looking for._

" _White daffodils. They mean renewal and fresh start."_

"These are beautiful Hinata. Thank you." Kurenai looked at the flowers gently while rubbing her stomach. "They are perfect."

"Ino helped me pick them up." Hinata smiled while helping her teacher her put the flowers in a jar. "She also told me to inform you Team 10 will come by before leaving on their mission."

"I see."

Her student could tell that Kurenai had been very shaken by the news. Despite being a shinobi and knowing the risks it entails, losing a loved one was never easy. Seeing her teacher like this was a difficult remainder of those risks. On the other hand, she was also the embodiment of strength and courage, of the will of fire to live on and honor the lives of those who had passed.

"It is very hard. But he fought and gave his life so that the next generation can grow up stronger." Kurenai closed her eyes. "He knew I was pregnant right before leaving. It was hard to watch him go when we were both aware of the danger of the mission." She sighed, and threw Hinata a bright smile. "But it's for those missions that we train so hard. To protect all of you and all that will come. He died as a true shinobi, and he lived as a great man."

Hinata listened, Kurenai's voice lingering in the air to make sure they were understood. She took a long pause before talking again and looked straight at her student sitting on the couch across her.

"But what about you, Hinata? I can see that something is bothering you. You're unsettled."

"I-I… nothing." The team 8 member looked to her lap, her fists closed. She didn't want to lie to her teacher but also did not want to bother her.

"Hinata, I know you better than anyone. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm still here for you despite retiring from shinobi duty."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai looked at her in doubt. She knew it was no good to pressure her. Kiba had insisted for a long time for her to stop using -san with him, and only when he stopped trying the Hyuuga girl started calling them Kiba-kun and Shino-kun.

"I don't know what ails you, but trust your judgement more. Also, you are allowed to make mistakes, nobody's perfect or knows everything. You are still young, and need to experience many things, don't forget that and don't restrain yourself so much." Hinata giggled, it felt good to be lectured again. She had missed her. Kurenai blushed a bit. "Look at me, already giving you lessons." And laughed too.

"You'll be a great mother Kurenai-sensei."

And Hinata meant it, from the bottom of her heart.

Without Kurenai, she would've given up on being a ninja when she graduated the Academy. The first person to really believe in her and give her strength had been this woman.

* * *

No period in one person's life lasts forever. Sasuke's time with Orochimaru would soon end, the day for the migration nearing. And for one of them it would probably be the last.

Sasuke rose from his training mates. All of them he had rendered immobile, not one of them fatally wounded. He did not need to mercilessly kill like his brother did to measure his strength. Restraint was also a needed skill in combat, to measure how much power you deliver according to your goals.

" _I killed them to measure my abilities."_ Sasuke remembered Itachi saying when he asked him why, standing over his parent's corpses. The nightmare that always haunted him, always came back. He frowned. "I'll be merciless only when I have to." He got up and left the grounds.

And the time for that was coming. He felt that Orochimaru had nothing more to teach him, at the same time that his host body was starting to decay. It would be a good time to take action, before Orochimaru took any more towards his experiments.

He only needed to gather as much information as possible to be ready for the follow-up. He already knew which allies he would gather. Things were going to get much more interesting from now on. The Uchiha smirked. When he had seen Naruto, he had noticed how much his former teammate had progressed, quite the remarkable amount. Nonetheless, what thrilled him was how the difference in their power had been clearly made. Naruto had grown stronger, but Sasuke had become powerful.

"I made the right choice afterall."

The Uchiha assured himself.

He sat on his bed and took a small box hidden on his pillow. Inside it, a soothing healing cream. Sasuke started applying to the small superficial cuts he had received. But the flicker of a silhouette disrupted his mind. He could easily identify who his subconscious wanted him to remember. The smell of lavender immediately invaded his nostrils despite no sign of any origin of the fragrance.

"Tsk. She has nothing to do with anything." He murmured.

The cloth that he took from her was kept on the box's lid. Despite making him feel a bit of a pervert, he had enjoyed how desperately she had reacted when she realized what he had done. Sasuke Uchiha was not a pervert, he just had found a deep pleasure in teasing Hinata Hyuuga. And that panty was just a reminder. Of a Sasuke that could have fun.

But things had to become serious at some point.

* * *

For several weeks now, Hinata had been going to the same training grounds she did when she was still a genin. The night soothed her and she felt that the moonshine gave her the courage to keep trying her new techniques and not give up.

She had heard Naruto had developed a new, impressive technique. The thought of it made her smile brightly and motivated her to keep progressing. According to Ino, it was something like Rasen Shuriken but a shuriken that couldn't be thrown. The contrast in those facts was very fitting of Naruto. She couldn't improve as fast as him nor did she have a killer jutsu, but she focused on steadily and rigorous training were what fitted her style.

It was a warm night, and her black slim attire was still too warm for the temperature. She panted as she examined if her finishing stance was correct. Hinata sighed, her left foot was tilting too much to her external side.

As she was getting ready to try again, she noticed something move in the bushes.

"Byakugan!" The Hyuuga girl activated.

A snake had been hiding on the bushes, but she noticed something was weird. This snake had chakra. As soon as the reptile noticed her attention, it ran towards the center of the forest, nearing the town's border. Hinata hesitated, but she had a feeling she needed to go, that something was waiting for her.

She followed the snake using the trees as stepping stones to gather speed and the animal seemed to speed up when it saw her catch up. It wanted to lead her somewhere. _"At least it means it's not a spy. It could be enemy ambush..."_ It was a possibility. She needed to proceed with care… Or be ready to take her own life if she were captured by people seeking the Byakugan.

The snake stopped at a small clearing. In the middle of naked patch of earth, she distinguished a figure she was starting to easily recognize. _Sasuke-kun…_

"I had a feeling you would be there. It also made my job to lure you here much easier." She heard the male voice say, while reaching down to let the snake crawl up his arm and hide in his clothes. His torso was exposed and Hinata could clearly discern the lines on his body. But she had to be careful.

"Shame I can't help you train anymore. But you seem to be doing fine." He gestured towards her.

Hinata took the Hyuuga stance and activated her eye jutsu.

"W-why did you wanted to lure me out?" She asked while scanning her surroundings. The Uchiha seemed to have come alone. Like usual.

"Just to send a message." He said, turning to face her. Seeing no threat and sensing no harming intent from the Avenger, Hinata slowly got out of the trees shadows into the clear space.

"To whom?"

The way the girl blatantly asked caugh him off guard. 'To send a message' had several different meanings, she was either still too naïve or had real confidence in her skills on reading the situation. He sighed.

"The news will spread so everyone will soon know: Orochimaru is dead." He noticed the girl flinched at the snake-man's name and gasped surprised.

"W-who was strong enough to kill him?" She asked, and Sasuke grinned, happy to give her the answer.

"I took him over."

"W-what? H-how?" She shivered by the way he said it. For the first time, she feared him a bit.

"I don't have much time Hinata." He said impatient. He noticed she blushed when he called her name. "I just wanted to warn you that he might have had plans involving you and your family."

"W-we don't have any family members that went missing, so h-he can't have any study involving the Byakugan." Hinata pondered.

"He didn't. But Kabuto is still out there, and I don't know what his next move will be. Just be aware of it."

"I will. Thank you Sasuke-kun." She said and bowed in acknowledgement. Sasuke felt lightly embarrassed. "D-demo… What will you do now?"

"What I have strived to do. I'm going after Itachi Uchiha."

"B-by yourself?" She asked. With Orochimaru, he'd had powerful allies. What about now?

"Why do you care? You want to come with me?" He asked raising an eyebrow and grinning.

"I-I don't m-mean that…" Hinata answered blushing. "But if you are strong e-enough to get rid of Orochimaru… You could come back to t-the village. T-tsunade-sama would even accept you back as a h-hero for g-getting rid of one of Konoha's b-biggest threat."

"Konoha has nothing to offer me." He stked annoyed.

"T-that's not true! Naruto's gotten s-stronger! Sakura is a good m-medic-nin! They could be u-useful support in a mission…"

"Not strong enough, not merciless enough." He rejected her arguments.

"Yes they are!" She yelled, annoyed. It had taken her all to discuss with him. And she hated how he dismissed his former teammates. "T-they've been training hard to k-keep up with you."

"Hmpf, it's not enough."

"S-Stop that!" Her tone made him waver and he looked at her intently. She was panting and looked nervous, but her determination was admirable. "T-they took out two Akatsuki members last mission." She felt a bit victorious when she saw Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

Akatsuki was the organization his brother belonged to. Their strength was rumored to be remarkable, their members equally or even stronger than Orochimaru. _Interesting._

"Itachi wasn't among them, I suppose?"

"N-no. It was the pair that killed Asuma-sensei…" Sasuke noticed the sadness in her eyes. He remembered Asuma was the funny trio's master.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He said closing his eyes and putting his hand on Hinata's shoulder. His gentle gesture surprised the Hyuuga girl, and she let a tear drop. Sasuke wiped it, and noticing their closeness took a step back.

He coughed to relieve the tension. "Well, do whatever you want with that information. I need to go now."

""They are _good,_ j-just like you." Hinata still wanted to convince him.

"I already have a good platoon in mind, if that's what really worries you." He informed her. The allies he had gathered had interests of abilities that would be very useful. "Naruto is a distraction, and I have a better medical support in mind that whatever Sakura could do."

"D-don't underestimate t-them."

"I won't." He narrowed his eyes. Naruto had surprised him once in the past. He wouldn't let himself make an error like that again. "I need to go now." He repeated, feeling he had been too long on Konoha's ground.

"W-wait!" She pleaded.

"What?" He noticed her hesitate. She was a beautiful kunoichi. Not perfect, not the strongest, but a good kunoichi nonetheless, as he couldn't help but notice. She had chosen what skills to improve and as such her role in a squad could be very useful and definitive in a shinobi mission. In a way, he was proud of her.

"W-why do you keep coming to me…?" She murmured. Sasuke got taken aback.

He didn't really know why. Why did this girl made it easier for him to sleep? Why did she sometimes invade his mind? Why had he been compelled to come see her twice already? Why? He'd wondered several times, despite his best efforts to keep her out of his mind.

"It just is." He said, trying to act cool. He didn't want to show that he had asked the question himself too.

"Before going far away… T-Think about coming back… Many will w-welcome you with o-open arms."

"… I can't come back Hinata." He felt a need to take her in his arms when he saw the look of sadness in her face. Her right hand was clutching her left arm, as if she too was restraining her body from moving. "Don't worry, I won't be a threat to the Leaf." Her look told him that's not what she was worried about.

"D-don't get lost."

"I never get lost."

"I d-don't mean it g-geographically!" She sighed. He actually thought amusing to see her exasperation. "J-just… stay yourself. Please."

"I don't know what you mean, but okay." He reassured her. Why did he care? "I need to go now." He said for the third time. "Take care of yourself too, Hinata."

"Good luck, Sasuke."

 **End of Chapter 4.**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 ** _This chapter is a bit short, but things are advancing and soon we'll be at the most interesting part. (At least the one I'm anxiously waiting for). It's hard to keep the tension and make things light between the two of them._**

 ** _So always open to your opinions, hope you will enjoy the read and leave me a review on your way =)_**

 ** _Thank you for following!_**


	6. Chapter 5

Hello! So I decided to answer some of your reviews:

 **Yuzukikuran476** : I know, Itachi's and Jiraya's deaths are way too sad, but since I'm trying to follow the storyline as closely as possible I can't just change that. Sorry, but hope you won't suffer too much :P

 **Chinitadere:** Don't worry, thanks for the novel! It's always a pleasure to have other people's opinion and ideas.

 **Guest SXH Sasuhina:** I put in a bit of team Hebi/Taka just for you. I wasn't planning to, but since you talked about them, I thought why not? It's not much, but it's also an important part of Sasuke's story. Sorry if I didn't do a good job :P

 **Guest Empress:** To be honest, I still don't know how to do the whole Pain thing! It's been bugging, since I want to get it right, but at the same time not deny what has been going on with Sasuke and Hinata, so how to turn it around might be delicate.

Thanks to everyone for reviewing, for your favourite and your follows!

 _ **IMPORTANT:**_ To reassure you all, it might take me two to three weeks to update, but don't worry because I have full intention of finishing this story. It just takes me some time to get into the mood and really decide what I want to write. I don't know how often writers usually update on fanfiction, but I can't really do more than that. I only promise you I won't abandon this story and I'll try to give you something bi-monthly ;).

This chapter will have a lot of jumps, I'll try to place it as well as I can on the story, but if you don't remember much of the manga/anime, you might get lost. I'll try to adjust accordingly.

P.S.: Take a look at the new cover :)

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

"Do you officially confirm this information?"

"Y-yes Hokage-sama."

Hinata stood determined in front of the Godaime. Tsunade had a very serious look on her eyes and stared at the poor kunoichi without blinking. The Hyuuga was trying her best to sound firm and held her head, but the intense look of her superior put her ill-at-ease, especially with the strong sunshine coming through the windows of the Hokage's office. After a long pause, Tsunade sighed.

"Thank you for coming straight to me, this early. I imagine you couldn't really sleep after such an encounter." Tsunade's body finally relaxed, allowing the room to shift spirits. Shizune by her side also let her shoulders slump. "Do you have any idea why he came to you specifically?"

Hinata gulped.

She had just told her last meeting with Sasuke Uchiha but left out the _detail_ of when he came to her room. The shy girl was too embarrassed to admit it to the Hokage.

"I-I-I-I b-believe it was to w-warn me of the possible threat to my clan." Her face became slightly flushed, despite Hinata not really understanding why the question she herself had asked the man made her so uncomfortable. Tsunade noticed and raised her eyebrows. _Interesting._

"Nevermind." She waved her hand to dismiss the subject. Hinata felt her heart rate slow down back to normal. "More importantly, we need to await confirmation on this intel. It's not that I don't believe you but I find it hard to believe that kid managed to kill Orochimaru, despite being considered a genius. However even that old snake would've had a hard time fooling you, so if it really was Sasuke… Now's the time to go all out to bring him back."

"I b-believe he's going to go straight a-after his b-brother, Tsunade-sama…" Hinata murmured, but Tsunade heard her loud and clear. It made sense, and he'd probably not want to waste time. _Yet he still made a detour to talk to you._ The Godaime pondered.

"Alright. Shizune start making preparations for the squad that'll go after Sasuke Uchiha. I already have a team in mind…" Tsunade stared writing down furiously. And then she looked at Hinata and saw her fidgeting. "Don't worry, I won't forget your clan. I'll convoke your father immediately and let him know we've had some information about organizations seeking your eyes. I will not tell him it was you, rest assured."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama." Hinata bowed as she had been trained to do since little age, and moved to leave the room.

"Oh, and Hinata." The Godaime called out and watched the Chuunin turn around hesitantly. "Be ready. You'll be part of the squad with Naruto's team." To her surprise, the girl turned different shades of crimson.

" _A mission with Naruto-kun! And to help Sasuke-kun!"_ The Hyuuga's head was in overdrive.

"H-hai Hokage-sama!" She said and took her leave.

"What a peculiar girl…" Tsunade heard her assistant say.

"Quite peculiar indeed." She replied and giggled. "She might be getting involved in very complicated affairs."

"Well, that's what ninjas sign up for, right?" Shizune said smiling.

"Not that kind of trouble, my dear Shine. This might be interesting to follow." Tsunade ended that discussion with a huge smile on her face, before turning serious. "Now, inform me as soon as Jiraya is back, and get things ready. If this is true, we need to move quickly."

"Hai Tsunade-sama." And Shizune left the room in a hurry.

The Hokage was left to wonder alone with her thoughts. It was difficult to accept what the young girl just told her, but in a way if it was true, the news weren't all bad. The blonde-haired woman shook her head. Once she knew for sure, she would deal with it then. For now, the only thought she kept on her head was "Poor Sakura. She might have some strong competition afterall." Despite loving her own student, she had to admit that the Hyuuga had some very good assets.

* * *

Sasuke looked at his newly formed team. He felt confident in his choices. What lay ahead of them would not be easy and they had only just begun.

"Don't come so close to me you swamp monster!" Karin's loud voice reached Sasuke's ears making him wince.

"You're the one who keeps coming to me you noisy bitch." Replied Suigetsu.

"What did you just call me, stink face?!" Karin red hair flipped towards Sasuke's face as she turned around to face the one who insulted her. He easily dodged by taking a step sideways, however it was starting to annoy him.

"Now, let's calm down you two." Interfered Juugo.

"NOBODY ASKED YOUR OPINION PSYCHOPATH" Yelled both trouble-makers while intently staring at each other.

Sasuke decided to ignore them, as long as it did not slow them down he didn't feel the need to interfere. Being grouped up with Sakura and Naruto, he was more than trained to ignore loud people, although these two were almost at the same level.

"Sasuke-kun, let's ditch these guys, you don't need them, let's just go on without them." Suddenly, the Uchiha was interrupted from his thoughts by Karin whispering in his ear.

"What's that, you crazy…?" And before Suigetsu could finish his sentence Karin punched him in the face. Water rained around the man's body, his face disfigured where he had been hit. It only took him a few seconds to regenerate his usual smug grin. "What a short temper huh!" He teased the red-haired girl.

Before she could retort or agress him any further, Sasuke stopped their movements by holding Karin's arm. "Shut up, both of you. Karin, there's a lot of people around there. Analyze."

"Y-yes Sasuke-kun!" And immediately she tried to focus on her task, which was hard since she was slightly blushing from being in contact with Sasuke's skin. "They seem to be just a group of travelers. No refined or important chakra to be noticed."

"There must be a town nearby. Let's settle and take this opportunity to gather supplies." Ordered the Uchiha.

It had been easy to convince these three to follow him. Before killing Orochimaru, he had already scouted seeking interesting individuals to help him on this stage of his revenge. They had annoying or weird personalities, but he had acknowledged their strength and they had quickly respected his. Since he met with Hinata at the Snow Country, his mind and spirit had been a bit troubled, but now he had no place or time to have his mind waver around. He needed to focus. After this, he didn't know what he would do, and he wasn't even sure there would be an after. All that he had planned was to accomplish his goal no matter the cost.

* * *

"Oh, so he came himself to gloat, that little rascal?" Jiraya replied to Tsunade saying she had already caught wind of his hot piece of information, his voice roaring on the Hokage's office.

"Not to me, of course. He would be already stuck here instead of wandering around, and Naruto would stop storming here to annoy me with his case." The Hokage replied. "So it is really true… Orochimaru is dead." She turned her chair around and faced the view of the village below her feet. "It is a little bit sad. He accomplished what the Third, you and I failed to do." Jiraya only stared at her back without moving, his face sober. "But he was our teammate one day. We should drink to his stead." She gave Jiraya a small smile and took from under her desk two sake's cups and a bottle.

"Always ready, huh?" Jiraya smiled back.

"Even the Hokage has a right to small breaks." She poured them each a dose, and they rose their cups. "To what was once our teammate." Tsunade hesitated, then added "And to one less threat to Konoha."

"To the first of us to go." Jiraya completed. And both poured down their throats the liquid, the blond-haired woman finishing by loudly thumping her cup on the table.

"Well, let's get a move on things. We need to get Naruto here, and form the team that will track down Sasuke. Now is the best moment to act, time is of the essence."

"I agree. How is that Hinata girl? For Sasuke to show up here just to talk to her seems unexpected." Jiraya asked, his right hand rubbing his chin, as in deep thought.

"She's a good girl. Very pretty. Maybe too innocent?" Tsunade replied with a huge smile. "Sasuke might have an attachement to this girl, she could be important for this case. Although it pains me that Sakura might not be too happy…"

"She must have something your apprentice doesn't. Like some big jugs…" To his last comment, Tsunade laughed back at his comment before suddenly lashing out and hitting his head.

"You big perv! They are just teenagers!"

"It's just anatomic comments, ANATOMIC!" He yelled trying to defend himself before being hit again.

* * *

"Do you all understand your roles?" Kakashi asked once more.

Team 8 and new Team 7 (including Yamato and Kakashi) were the elite platoon Tsunade had picked out to work this mission. Kakashi was team leader and had worked their strategy with Shikamaru before leading.

"Hai!" They all responded in unison.

Hinata was right beside Naruto, since the platoon was to spread out in groups to cover more area. She was proud that her team's tracking skills had been acknowledged and was more than ready to prove her usefulness in this mission. She had every reason to be motivated: Help Naruto-kun accomplish his goal, and personally for her, she dearly wished to help Sasuke-kun. Hinata hesitated in calling him friend, but she could not deny that after all the moments they had passed together, something started to blossom between them. However, she didn't know how to classify it.

"Hinata, I'm counting on you." Naruto looked at her, serious.

"H-hai Naruto-kun! I'll do my best!"

"Okay, let's go you two!" Yamato ordered, and everything was put on motion.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

When the full moon was high into the sky, Hinata went into her tent. She was dejected. Her sleeping bag felt cold and unappealing. She didn't feel like sleeping. Their whole mission had been failure, she had not been able to do a single thing:

After a long time tracking Sasuke, following leads, they had finally found his location, only to be hindered by an Akatsuki member called Tobi. He had a weird space-time manipulation that allowed him to avoid every attack and put them on a stand-still. Hinata had been powerless, her only role had been to try to understand his chakra signature as a hint to getting his powers and she had failed miserably. Shino was also gloomy, not being able to gather more intel either.

When the other Akatsuki member showed up announcing Sasuke had killed Itachi Uchiha and then been taken away, every track of him hidden or obliterated, time seemed to pass by slowly. Both enemies disappeared as suddenly as they had showed up, and the Konoha team immediately set out to scan the location of the Uchiha's fight.

Once there, they met only destruction. A huge fog of chakra surrounded what once had been a building. It was clear as day that a most impressive battles in history had happened, and it had pitted one brother against another. Naruto stood in front of a vestige of a wall, bearing the imposing crest of the Uchiha's. Trace's of blood were found all around it, but no body to be seen. All they had come looking for had already vanished.

The whole platoon went silent. Sakura's tears were the only thing heard, and Naruto was strikingly quiet. No one dared to speak. An hour passed before Kakashi told them they needed to set camp before heading back. When he saw that their mood wasn't improving, he told them to perk up and that failure was also part of a ninja's path and they had to accept it as shinobi's. To learn from it and bounce back.

" _Kso! Nonsense! We should've been there faster! Kso! Kso! Kso!" Naruto yelled and cursed, too heavy-hearted to do anything else._

" _Calm down Naruto, I understand your frustration." Kakashi tried to pacificate the Jinchuuriki._

" _He finally did it… maybe he will come back to the village now." Sakura dared herself to wish out loud. Her voice soft as a whisper, her face too broken to express real hope._

" _He… he might." Naruto calmed down when he heard her voice and saw her state. It pained Hinata that she didn't know what she could do to soothe either of them._

Hinata wondered if he would really come back now. Logically, he had accomplished what he had set out to do. But would he come back just like that? A shiver went down her spine. The Akatsuki member said he had collapsed right after Itachi died. Was he too hurt? Had he… The kunoichi didn't dare think of that possibility. It would be too cruel. It was already too cruel to have two brothers strike against each other. To have so much hate inside someone. _I hope he is okay…_ She wished and noticed she had shed one single tear.

"Hinata, you still awake?" A voice called for her outside her tent.

"Y-yes, Kiba-kun." She answered, opening the entrance.

"Sorry to bother you, but Akamaru got a bit hurt and I wanted to know if you some of that cream you made for him." Her teammate asked with a half-smile. He really didn't want to disturb her, but seeing the enemies they might face, it was better to make sure everyone was on their best shape.

"Oh sure, no problem. I'll come apply on him, wait a second, Kiba-kun." She answered heartily. Hinata was always glad to be of use, especially since she usually poured her heart into making her healing creams.

"Thank you."

Crickets were shirping and the grass was gently caressed by the wind. Everything seemed peaceful, like the calm before the storm. Hinata delicately treated Akamaru's wound, and noticed that her teammate was unusually quiet. Even if it was in regard of their platoon's rest, Kiba always talked to Akamaru or whoever was near. It was painfully obvious that everyone was dealing with the frustration of their failed mission, and they all needed time to accept it. She wasn't the only one struggling.

"Go to sleep Hinata. Thank you." He said, without really turning his head to look at her. Hinata hesitated before going back to her tent.

"G-good night." She decided to leave him to his thoughts.

In front of her tent she noticed something was out of place. Hinata wasn't quite sure what it was, but she knew something was amiss. Using her Byakugan, she noticed a strange chakra signature, but strangely enough she couldn't _sense_ it. She took a few steps towards it… and before she could fight it, darkness engulfed around her.

* * *

"Why did you bring _her_?" She heard a much too familiar voice say not far from her.

"I think she can be of use right now to you." And another less familiar voice that she recognized. It had a foolish and mockerish tone, one that had very much annoyed her and her teammates not long ago.

Hinata opened her eyes and as they adjusted to light, she saw two silhouettes a few meters away until she could ascertain both interlocutors. Her reactions were groggy. She analyzed her body state, not knowing if she had been rendered unconscious or just transported through an unknown jutsu. Her head was fine and she did not have a single scratch, so if they wanted her dead, they would've done it already.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She tried to say, but her voice seemed to fail and crack. However, the sound was enough to call their attention.

"Leave." He said to the masked man who she identifies as Akatsuki's Tobi.

"Y-yes! I'll let you deal with it as you wish Sasuke." He said in his foolish and scaredy cat reaction. Sasuke shot him a glare, and he switched to a deep masculine voice. "Sorry, force of habit of being into the character." And thus he left without a trace.

Both shinobi's were left staring at each other in complete silence. The ground was pure vermillion rocks, and they seemed to be in a canyon with no one near. From the scenery, she could estimate that this location wasn't very far from their camp, but at least a couple of hours at normal speed.

"Sasuke-kun." Hinata tried again. His stare intensified on her face.

"You are the heir of your clan. A clan that is deeply connected to Konoha's roots and Council. Did you know _anything_ my brother?" Sasuke asked, his tone harsh and unforgiving. His red eyes were glaring at her soul. For the very first time, Hinata shook from her core facing his pressure. She swallowed dryly before mustering the strength to speak out loud.

"I-I only heard about w-what happened to your clan from r-rumors and at school. I'm not really involved with my clan's C-council m-much less Konoha's…" She tried to answer, not seeing what the man in front of her wanted to know.

"Did you not know that Itachi killed my whole clan under Konoha's orders?! _For Konoha?!_ Despite how much it hurt him? Despite how emotionless he would need to become to do it?!" He yelled at her. He shouted at her. He howled at her.

"I-I-I… No." Hinata whispered. It was awful. It was horrible. It couldn't be true. She fell to her knees. How cruel was the Shinobi world? How cruel was the world to this poor boy in front of her? "No." She struggled to get up. "No." She repeated while wiping her tears.

"I'm going to kill them all. To kill all of Konoha." He told her. His face and his voice emotionless. Only his eyes showed rage, and she discerned sadness, even across all the meters that separated them, she could see it clear as day.

In a sudden move, Sasuke lunged forward and did hand signs at a speed she could barely follow. Electricity surged a his right hand as he moved to strike her. All Hinata did was raise her neck.

"Why?" He said, his mouth right next to her ear.

A filet of blood ran down her neck into her collarbone and down her shirt. His right hand had stopped right before having contact with her skin, but the energy of his Chidori had been sharp enough to still make a small clean cut. Sasuke had stopped his movement right before slicing her neck open.

"Why didn't you even try to move?"

"If I thought you would really do it, I would have tried to defend myself as a shinobi, as I was trained to do. But instead of feeling killing intent from you... I only felt pain." She whispered back.

Sasuke face became a twisted mask full of rage. His brows furrowed and his mouth contracted… Until he felt Hinata's hand on his back. All of body relaxed at once, all the tension went away. Hinata held him and slowly let both of their bodies fall to the ground together. His face rested on her shoulder, where she couldn't see it. His other hand had been clutching his sword all this time, and he finally let it go as his arm lingered lifeless. Her voice, her smell, her touch… His revenge, his suffering, his brother. It was too much.

He screamed. Sasuke screamed, deep wails of pain. Hinata cried in his place, silently, while she stroked his back and his head. She could feel under his clothes several bandages, and she didn't need her Byakugan to know the severity of his numerous injuries. However, she could also tell that they had been treated correctly by a very skilled healer or medic-nin. Except his soul. The man laying there with her was heart-broken, a gap so deep and agonizing that it seemed impossible to mend. She knew there was nothing she could say or do, except just try to soothe him as best as she could. Let him know he was not alone. " _I'm sorry for all your pain. But you are not alone. Don't give in."_ She wished strongly.

The darkness covered for him. The distance covered his voice. The night covered his suffering. But everything felt too vivid, too real, too hard and too cruel in that spot where they were, and right there nothing was covered for her. Seconds felt like hours and minutes like days. Before she realized, there was finally silence. Slowly he had slipped down and his head rested on her stomach, his face hidden still against the fabric of her clothes. Hinata caressed his unruly hair, sweetly, gently, motherly.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but she didn't dare move or speak. For a while now, all she heard was his slow breathing as his back moved up and down along with it.

"…" Sasuke mumbled something Hinata didn't manage to hear. "He couldn't kill me." He repeated. "He couldn't kill his little brother." His voice was hoarse, his throat dry. "He was crying that day." Slowly he raised his head, and looked straight at her lilac eyes. "The night of the massacre, before leaving he looked at me." Hinata closed her eyes, she couldn't hold his stare. "And he was crying."

He slowly got up and retrieved his sword resting near her thigh. Hinata resisted the urge to hold his arm and tell him to stay there, on the floor, with her, just a little longer.

"And I killed him. I avenged my clan." He stated. "Now I need to avenge him."

He said and put his sword on his back and started to slowly walk away from Hinata. She opened her eyes and looked at his back.

"W-wait!" She pleaded. He took a few steps forward before stopping. He hesitated, but finally turned around to face her. Hinata had gathered enough strength to stand up. Both her arms were raised in front of her chest. "I-it doesn't have to be this way. W-we don't need to follow the footsteps of our predecessors. We have our own path. Our own ninja way." His face softened at her desperate cry. But he closed his eyes and looked away.

"You know this is my path. This is the path I chose. Like you can't betray your village, I cannot betray my family." Sasuke explained, and it pained Hinata to know he was right. She couldn't see things going another way. She couldn't see him now coming back to the village with this truth hanging on his shoulders.

"Sasuke-kun…" Her voice held pain, sadness, and sorrow.

"I hold no grudge against you Hinata. I know you will fight to stop me. I will fight to destroy what you love most. I hope we don't meet again… because if you are in my way I _will_ kill you."

"I will fight you, with everything I've got, but I'll never try to kill you Sasuke." She answered, determined. "And you will see things differently then."

"Looks like the dobe has really rubbed off on you." He gave her a half-smile, which took her by surprise. "Until then."

"Stay strong. Don't abandon hope." Her voice was breaking, she needed to do something to stop him, she felt he was slipping right through her hands, somewhere too far away.

"Never change." Sadness had now been engraved in the Uchiha's onyx orbs, however the look he gave her was full of warmth and thankfulness. And longing. This time Hinata was sure of what she saw.

"S-" Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything else, Sasuke struck her with a powerful genjutsu and she fell asleep. He walked towards her and took her in his arms. Her peaceful face agreed with her resolutions. A part of him wished they could stay in each other's company a while more. Maybe had they grown close earlier things might have been different. Maybe. He kissed her forehead and carried her.

"Take her back from where you took her." He said to Tobi. "And don't hurt her." Sasuke showed him a flicker of his recently acquired Mangekyou sharingan.

"Don't worry." The Akatsuki man nodded. "And what are you going to do now?"

"Gather everyone. We'll move as soon as you are back."

"I see."

Sasuke could hear the satisfaction in Tobi's voice. He made a mental note to be very wary of him. Itachi didn't trust him, and it seems he has been watching the young Uchiha carefully. Had Tobi been only guessing, the girl most likely to be close to him would be Sakura, as she is his former teammate. For him to know that Hinata meant something to him, he must have been surveilling Sasuke for a while, afterall, Hinata and Sasuke had barely ever spoken to each other in their childhood.

* * *

"Why did you bring that girl?" White Zetsu asked Tobi.

"I've been watching Sasuke for a while now. He might not admit it himself, but that girl means something to him. I saw two case scenarios, and both were promising." Tobi answered. His arms crossed satisfactorily. He had just put the Hyuuga girl back in her tent and recovered the dummy he had placed so her teammates wouldn't notice her absence.

"What were they?"

"Either he would be so angry at Konoha he would kill her: it would prove he was ready to be ruthless. That was the one I was hoping for. Otherwise, she would calm him down and he would resume moving carefully. Which it's not a bad compromise. Both work for me."

" **He's been easy to manipulate so far."** Black Zetsu commented.

"So far. Uchiha's can always be so… unpredictable." Tobi gloomily answered, with a hint of proudness.

* * *

Hinata sighed when she woke up on her sleeping bag. She hesitated for a while, thinking she might have dreamed it all, however the dust on her knees and her shoes proved that it had been real. She rolled around, unable to close her eyes. Frustration kept gathering up her chest, as her failures to help Sasuke and Naruto kept accumulating. It was so hard to keep fighting and to stay determined. But she needed to. She had to.

The higher we go, the harder we fall. But stronger we rise.

That's what she had to believe.

And for now, she only wanted a few minutes of peace and sleep before having to keep hoping on.

 **End of Chapter 5**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _ **Well, tried my best. Hope you guys will like it. Read and review and see you in two-three weeks or maybe less with an update!**_


	7. Chapter 6

Hello (again and every time)! So I tried to do this update faster than usual, because it is so motivating to see your reviews asking for more and all the follows and favorites. Thank you so much for your support, I'll try my best to have faster releases.

This chapter will have a lot of flashbacks since it seemed the easiest way to bring up the canon Pain Attack arc without stepping too much into the canon story.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

"You may dress yourself now, Hinata." Shizune said as she finished the medical examination. She enviously glanced at the generous D-Cup the teenager bared, but quickly stopped herself from having these unprofessional thoughts.

"Thank you, Shizune-san." Hinata shyly answered as she zipped up her lilac coat and kneeled down to lace her sandals. She avoided eye contact with Shizune, and stared at the soil, where the medical tent had been prepared to receive patients. It was a pretty simple space, but they had no choice seeing the destruction of the city. Tsunade-sama herself was resting in a similar tent, being in a comatose state for overusing her abilities. It was thanks to her and Katsuyu that many managed to survive.

Pain's attack on Konoha happened just a while ago. The whole village had been obliterated, but thanks to Pain's last act of faith using a resurrection jutsu, everyone seemed to be recuperating just fine. They celebrated that there were very few to none casualties, and so the Konoha population, shinobi and civils alike, were all working together towards the city reconstruction. The medics and nurses had prepared four small settlements on every cardinal point to attend to the injured, from battle and from work. People seemed to prefer concentrating on menial tasks, rather than ponder on the probable future coming ahead. Akatsuki could no longer be ignored and the other nations would soon start to take notice of the fire country's ninja village issues. Tsunade's condition also raised political tension and conflict.

Still, everyone was trying their best to lift people's spirits. Hinata had come after much insistence on her comrades' side. Everyone that had been resurrected came back unscathed, but those that were injured had not been so lucky. She had almost died, so Neji and Kiba feared her injuries might still be serious. However, for Hinata, she was hysically okay. However spiritually… she felt a whole on her chest.

.

" _What's going on? Is Naruto really fighting Pain? What will become of us?" Hinata could hear some murmurs and even loud anguished screams around her. However, her focus was on the activity on the center of the town. Every single person still alive after Pain's monstrous attack to erase Konoha were all gathered around that spot, watching Naruto fight, their last ray of hope. However, despite having come back with amazing new powers, the Jinchuuriki seemed to be struggling to defeat the six enemies. Hinata stared, hesitant. Why was he fighting alone? Was it really okay for no one to be there next to him? To support him? To watch his back? Wasn't she, as several other shinobi, supposed to have trained to fight against this kind of threat?_

" _Shouldn't we help him…?" Without noticing, she voiced her anguish._

" _At this level of fighting, we'd just in Naruto's way, that's why nobody has moved to go there, Hinata-sama." Answered her Hyuuga comrade. His leg was injured and he couldn't move. The young heir cursed herself for not knowing any medic jutsu that could help him._

 _Naruto seemed to be faring quite well. Only one Pain remained, nevertheless he seemed to be having a hard time against him. Suddenly, the tides changed and Naruto had been immobilized. Hinata watched in horror as the remaining enemy impaled him with black sticks. "Naruto-kun… No!" She screamed to herself. The whole town was silent, not knowing how to react seeing their warrior be defeated._ "How can I just sit here and watch? They can't take Naruto-kun!" _Hinata started to become desperate._ "But what can I do…" _She thought helpless. If Naruto had failed to beat him, how could she even make a dent on such a fierce foe_? "No! I decided to stop thinking so negatively. If no one is going to move… I shall. I will. I can't let Naruto-kun die in front of me. I can't let him die without putting up a fight. I can't let him die without him knowing there are people that care about him. I can't let him die without doing anything!" _Hinata held her head, strengthening her resolve._ "Even if I give my life, it'll be doing fighting for what I believe in. For someone that deserves it. That's the ninja path he showed me and that I chose for myself."

 _Hinata leaned on her knees and prepared to jump. She knew it was probably a futile effort. She knew she'd probably end up dead. She knew everyone would think her a fool. But she would die a fool willingly, if it was while standing up for what she believed in, for what she believed she should be. And while doing it, why not have one more act of courage and tell the person she's been admiring for so long how she has always felt? "There's nothing more brave than to confess in front of the whole town", she smiled to herself, right before jumping into the fray._

.

Afterwards, she had been knocked out and heavily injured by Pain. She regained consciousness when Sakura healed her, and everyone filled her in.

"From what I can see, any damage Pain inflicted to you seems to be repairing just fine, nothing everlasting or permanent." Shizune concluded out loud so her patient could hear. "Sakura did a good job on her on-field healing" She ended with a smile.

Hinata flinched at that mention. She had no dislike for the pink-haired girl, on the contrary, she admired Sakura. Her discomfort came from when the medic-nin scolded her for being so reckless; but her eyes only showed guilt and remorse for not being the one to have had the courage to stood up. Her eyes showed the same doubts Hinata's own used to show before she decided to change.

"Don't push yourself too much." The Hokage's assistant dismissed her with that friendly warning. "Oh, what you did was very reckless… and extremely brave. I don't think many people realize it, but you saved us all."

Hinata didn't know what to answer. She bowed in recognition and left the tent in a hurry.

A group went past her in a hurry, while another crossed her path carrying several construction materials. A soup kitchen was just on the corner where several cooks worked together to feed those doing the hard manual labor. It was amazing to see the whole town come together to overcome their difficult situation. Hinata decided to join her team to help them with whatever they were doing. Upon approaching their likely location, she noticed Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto talking together. As per usual, her whole face turned crimson finding herself near her crush so suddenly.

They had not spoken at all, and he had not addressed the issue of her confession.

"Hey Hinata! Where were you?" Asked Naruto with his usual grin.

"E-e-e-e-e-t-o-"The girl mumbled to no end turning redder and redder.

" _Oh shit, this is awkward…"_ Thought Kiba.

" _Damn, how troublesome."_ Agreed mentally Shikamaru.

"What's wrong Hinata? Do you have a fever? It might be an infected injury!" Naruto asked concerned.

" _HOW DENSE IS THIS IDIOT?"_ Thought both males witnessing the scene.

"N-no-nothing. I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun." She tried to answer without daring to share eye contact.

"That's a relief." As he said it, Naruto saw an image flash before his eyes. Hinata severely injured, blood spread across her face and her eyes almost empty… He blinked twice and stared at the same girl in front of him that seemed just fine. It bothered him… Why did he see that? Where had he seen that? When had she been so injured? His head hurt. "I-I…" he hesitated, his forehead creased in a frown. "Stay safe, okay?" He said in a low tone and seriously. Something in that image bothered him.

Hinata raised her head to finally look into the depths of those blue-sky eyes, puzzled by Naruto's behavior. "Y-yes, I will."

Kiba and Shikamaru also were perplexed. Shikamaru, behind both interlocutors, raised a hand to his chin and seemed to be in deep thought.

"Ah, sorry, I have to go quickly, Sakura and Kakashi are waiting for me. Take care of yourself Hina-chan!" The oblivious blonde said before heading away, giving her a huge smile and waving like a fool. Hinata waved back, with less exuberance than the Jinchuuriki.

All three shinobi stood there in complete awkward silence.

"Uhm… Listen Hinata, I think that everything that happened right before Naruto went Ninetails berserk is a blur in his mind and he doesn't remember very well what happened. He doesn't seem to have any recollection on… you know." Shikamary tried to explain, not daring to look the Hyuuga straight in the eye, given the nature of the delicate issue.

"O-Oh! O-Okay, I see." She answered, surprised Shikamaru was trying to comfort her. "G-guess it's better that way." She added, looking at the floor.

" _Being in love seems to be a real hassle."_ Shikamaru sighed. _"Specially when it involves such a dense idiot like Naruto."_

"Just hope you are recovering okay." The jounin said while rubbing his neck, the situation being very uncomfortable. As proof, he was annoyed that even the loud Inuzuka was not daring to speak. "I need to go. My dad wants me to accompany him in dealing with some political stuff."

Hinata was left with Kiba, who was leaning on Akamaru. He was a bit flushed, embarrassed by the situation.

"I-I'm sorry Kiba-kun." Hinata said, her voice low and apologetic.

"D-don't apologize!" Kiba quickly replied, his hands moving erractly in front of him to stop her from continuing. She raised her head and tilted it to the side, in a cute innocent way. "I-its just…" He turned his face to the side and scratched it to hide his embarrassment. "You were very brave in… you know… both things." Hinata blushed immediately once more.

"U-um… T-Thank you." She replied shyly.

"Just… Shino and I are proud to be your teammates. So don't be shy or hide! Alright? We're team 8 alright!" He ended spiritually closing his fist energetically in front of him to sustain his statement. Hinata genuinely smiled back. She was very glad to have such reliable comrades.

* * *

Sasuke sat on the highest branch of the highest tree. He lay there, pensive. His thoughts were finally clearing. The rising sun at first blinded him to then present him a magnificent view. The yellow and orange colors invading the sky seemed to his eyes destructive fire. He hadn't been able to sleep, so he stood guard all night. It was the same sleepless nights as when he first _really_ noticed her. The Uchiha closed his fist in anger. _No, it's not the same. This time she won't be there to ease my sleep._ He closed his eyes, not wanting to look around in hope of seeing her small figure somewhere. Goddamn this forsaken unforgiving world. She was too naïve. She was too nice. She was too innocent. Of course, she wouldn't last long.

 _._

 _Tobi had intercepted his group Taka on their way to Konoha. He announced them that Konoha had been obliterated by Pain, nonetheless there had not been many casualties seeing Naruto had managed to change his heart. Sasuke scoffed at that comment,_ "The idiot will be even more delusional believing he can change me."

" _So pretty much no one died huh?" He sneered at the Akatsuki. "So much for the Akatsuki name."_

" _Oh, but there were some deaths. Like the Hyuuga heir." Tobi retorted. Zetsu looked at him confused, but Tobi moved an imperceptible finger to make him shut up. "Hinata Hyuuga. I believe you were acquainted?" He completed, then paused waiting to see the Uchiha's reaction._

 _Sasuke froze._ Hinata? _His heart skipped a beat. No. Why "no"? Sasuke struggled. There seemed to be contradictory reactions inside of him. Something inside him seem to start boiling, to be ready to snap. Something else, however, started to feel cold…_

" _How did she manage to be one of the few to die?" He controlled himself to seem emotionless. Part of him wanted to… take the time to absorb. Another part of him was telling him to suppress everything._

" _She jumped into Naruto and Pain's fight to save the former." Tobi informed. He seemed satisfied, despite the Uchiha's efforts to hide everything beneath a mask, the skilled Akatsuki leader detected the turmoil inside the young man._ The more hate, the better.

 _It took every ounce of strength and control Sasuke had to remain impassive while dealing with the shady Uchiha man in front of him. However once he left, he gave his team orders to set camp before meeting with Tobi for the next step._

" _Already? It's not dark yet." Suigetsu complained. Sasuke only glanced at him with an eye full of rage, his mangekyo showing. The water-type shinobi shivered in place. "Alright, alright, no need to get pissy."_

" _I'll stand guard all night, you three rest." And as soon as he spoke he moved to the spot he was now._

He'd been standing the whole night. Only when he was blinded by the appearance of light, he moved and realized his legs were numb. His back had been pressed against the tree's trunk, his muscles sore from the tension.

She was dead. Gone. It shouldn't have surprised him. He'd told her he'll kill her himself. He'd already lost everything in this world, so how come another death still hurt so much? Why? Deep down, he knew why. He just didn't want to admit to himself. Did he had to? Did he really have to?

She was naïve. She was stubborn too. And she did it for Naruto… And for some reason, that stung. "That blonde idiot, not even capable to protect his friends…" In a way, Sasuke had let himself forget what he knew, that she loved his former teammate, that she only had eyes for the blonde dobe. And because of him she was now gone. Because she was from that accursed village. Because she tried to fight to protect what she loved. Maybe because she was just another person he had started to care about.

"Hyuuga Hinata." He said out loud. And he felt something fall out of his eye. He caught it with his hand: it was a droplet of water. It was a tear. Sasuke shut both his eyelids. When he opened, his once warm onyx eyes were as cold and as turbulent as a snowstorm.

No, he did not have to admit it. Not anymore. Not ever again. The coldness he had felt earlier had finally spread, and it felt good the be numb.

He had finally made the last decision needed to form his plan of action. To his team Taka at first he had announced they were only going to kill the masterminds behind his family's suffering. To Tobi he had said it was just to appease his teammates, but his goal was to obliterate Konoha and everyone in it. At the time, he had said what each party wanted to hear, to ease them into following his plan. However, he did not know which version he was going to respect.

Now he did. There was nobody in Konoha that deserved his mercy anymore. They all deserved to pay for their sins, for the crimes that payed for they carefree lives. And he had finally nothing more to lose. Naruto would be the last test for full oblivion.

* * *

Sakura sat down on floor of her medical tent. She had been busy all day treating wounds and performing treatments. She felt exhausted and was glad no one came in after the last patient went out. The pink-haired girl finally had some time to think.

She had been feeling an impending doom of guilt and uselessness. Hinata had been the one to jump when Naruto was cornered, and not her, his own teammate. All she could do once more was watch, again and again, not being able to do anything, or rather… not having the courage to.

Yes, she was a medic-nin, and very good at it, but what good was she if they were dead? Was it really better to just heal their wound than fight by their side to prevent them? And Hinata mustered the courage to finally voice her feelings out loud, in front of everyone. Something she herself never had the courage to do either.

She had not been able to stop Sasuke from leaving. She had managed to bring him back. She had not managed to have her feeling reach the man she loved. And she didn't even move when her friend and teammate was about to be kidnapped and suffer a horrible fate. Sakura Haruno had just watched. And she was getting tired of watching.

.

On the other side of the tent, Hinata heard Sakura sigh. She hesitated about speaking to Sakura regarding Sasuke. She felt that she was in the wrong by hiding so much information from the people that were originally closest to him, but on the other hand… It made their connection more real. Hinata felt selfish, but the other reason despite the secrecy and danger of the data… was that she wanted it to herself. And it made her confused.

When she said it was best Naruto not remember what happened, she meant it. The hole in her chest had its origin on her expectations. Hinata Hyuuga never expected Naruto Uzumaki to answer her confession; she was there to give her life to save him (or at least die trying) and tell him how important he had been to her. How he had never been alone, even if she was only in the shadows. It had been freeing, thrilling… but that joy that should come from confessing to the person you love… didn't come. And her heart was confused. Why did it not come? She felt peace, harmony from sharing. But not love. Shouldn't she be at least hurt from not getting an answer? Shouldn't she be wanting one at least, to at least know he acknowledged her feelings?

No, she didn't' need an answer. She knew already what it would be. Since a long time ago. And it didn't hurt. Not anymore. Her love for Naruto was a different one than she believed it to be. To finally know it… was confusing more than anything. What had changed? In the back of her mind, she saw a flash of scarlet eyes. _Sasuke-kun…_ Yes, maybe wanting to help Sasuke thinking it was for Naruto made her realize that Naruto was mostly a role model. Because she now knew that the reason she wanted to help Sasuke was not only for Naruto anymore. It was… just what she as a shinobi should do. Of course, that was it. It had to be it. It had to be only it. Her brows furrowed. _Something doesn't feel right in that logic…_

Sakura sniffed inside the tent. "Why couldn't you come back, Sasuke-kun…" She murmured. It snapped Hinata out of her own delusions.

Hinata's heart tightened. She felt guilty. She raised her arm and clutched her fist near her chest. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan…" And left quietly. That was something she was not ready to face yet, because she didn't know what exactly she had to say.

* * *

.

.

.

.

"So we all agree this is how things should go?" Shikamaru asked all of the gathered chuunin. Team 8, team 10 and team Gai all stood there with serious faces.

The situation had escalated quickly these last few days. Kumogakure ninjas had come to ask permission to chase and execute Sasuke Uchiha. He had been declared a formal missing-nin by the now Hokage Danzou, and they could hardly protest since his latest activities linked him to Akatsuki.

"I'll talk to Sakura before talking to Naruto then." Shikamaru said, and started to move to leave.

"W-wait, Shikamaru-kun!" Hinata finally managed to say out loud.

"Uh? What is it Hinata?" Shikamaru looked at her, curious as to what she had to say.

"I-I d-don't agree. I-I don't think we should h-hunt Sasuke. I believe in Naruto and I'm sure Naruto h-has not g-given up on him, so I w-won't either."

They all looked shocked at Hinata.

"But Hinata-sama Sasuke has – " Neji started to argue but she cut him off.

"T-that's my opinion. H-however as a K-Konoha ninja, if Naruto-kun agrees I'll follow just the same. I'll n-never attack to kill, but I'll a-aid any of you in y-your mission." Despite her nervous stutter, Hinata did her best to look determined and show she would not waver.

"Well… That is your right. I appreciate your honesty, Hinata." Shikamaru said while rubbing his back; his laid back gestures were actually hiding how his mind was working out this information. " _Never thought Hinata would be so adamant on Sasuke Uchiha. Then again, she does follow Naruto's beliefs…"_ "Aaah…" He exclaimed tired. "Well, you agree that it doesn't change the course of action we chose on?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yes, I agree." She answered, blushing slightly from being on the spot. Her eyes shifted to her sandals, not daring to face her friends looks.

" _Hinata…"_ Ino stared at the shy-girl wide-eyed. It was all she could do to control her sobs, despite the tears that kept flowing, and the kunoichi looked at as most frail in their genin days had just showed she had heart to stand against her comrades' opinion.

"This fight… it's hard. But we're all here to support each other. And we'll fight together." Lee said to comfort everyone's spirits.

" _Naruto-kun… I have faith in you. And I have faith in Sasuke. I hope you won't give up either."_

* * *

"There is no turning back from now on. We'll be branded and known across the whole continent as dangerous S-list criminals." Suigetsu stated. He was right behind Sasuke, that stood in front of him, the cloth of his clothes fluttering from the wind.

"What, you scared now, dirty swamp?" Karin mocked. "You can still turn tail and run, scaredy-cat. We don't need you anyway."

"Shut up you scarlet witch! I'm not scared, it's just a fact."

"S-list criminals…" Juugo voiced. "Doesn't sound too bad."

Sasuke turned around to face his teammates. The icy chill of his stare made them all quiet. "Karin's right. If you are too scared, now's the time to bail." His voice remained emotionless.

"I won't bail, I still have something to accomplish by your side." Suigetsu stated and caressed the legendary blade he had recovered from the great shinobi Zabuza.

"I'll follow Sasuke-kun." Karin answered lowly with a blush on her cheeks.

"I want to see what the man Kimimaro gave his life for is going to accomplish." Juugo informed and crossed his arms. "His goal might have been to bring you to Orochimaru, but he acknowledged you, and so do I."

"Good. Let's go." The team leader simply ordered. "Don't regret it later." All three of his subordinates nodded. They were determined to do this. "To the Five Kage summit then." _And the first step to_ _ **my**_ _justice._

* * *

Sakura was thinking hard on what Sai and Shikamaru had just told her. Sai explained how she had put a weight on Naruto's shoulder that he had been carrying with too much pressure. And Shikamaru announced her that the rest of Genin 12 were all decided to take the matter in their own hands before other countries did. For Konoha's sake, for Konoha's reputation, and because it was their responsibility as Sasuke's former colleagues.

It was time to stop crying. Time to stop relying on other people's strengths. She would take the matter into her own hands. Sakura Haruno was decided to kill Sasuke Uchiha.

.

Hinata was determined to not let Sasuke die. She knew in her heart that Naruto would never agree, because Sasuke was important to him, and because he wouldn't want his friends to carry such a heavy burden. Hinata didn't want that either, and she was also determined to stop any bloodshed Sasuke would misguidedly try to make. Her decision was to not let her friends hurt each other, because those are the people she lived to defend. And not any of them deserved to suffer from such a cruel fate.

 **End of Chapter 6**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _ **I don't really know if I liked this chapter. It's been ready since last week, but I've been much too hesitant on it. In the end, I decided that this is how I want things to go, so I hope you won't be disappointed.**_

 _ **Wish you enjoy the read and leave a review to tell me what you think!**_

 ** _Also, from next chapter they'll meet again and I really looking forward to get to the real SasuHina moments and the M-rated material I warned about :D Although the M might take longer still._**

 ** _P.S.: Suppose that until the end of the 4th Shinobi War we can say we are in Part I of the story; since afterwards will come the more interesting part and non-canon. Don't know if I'll edit and make Part I, Part II. Or another story, or just leave it in the chapters._**


	8. Chapter 7

I am soooooo very sorry for being this freakin' late! I had so much going on, and then so many commentaries pointing out some plot holes or errors; so I had to rethink some things and then tell myself to stop being scared and write. Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed, I really try to take into consideration what you say, despite it being very hard to change.

I'll try to finish this before the end of this year. Hope you still want to read

And reminder: since I'm trying to make it fit into the main story world, if you have don't really remember how the story happened, you might have some trouble situating things. I try to place events and make some recollections of what is going on or the parts I skipped but it is hard, so please point out to me if you had trouble somewhere :D.

 **Amezaiku:** Okay so to answer your doubts (thanks for pointing them out), when I wrote "nine-tails berserk" I meant Nine-tails the monster not nine tails as in number of tails; but I understand your confusion so I corrected it with the uppercase. Secondly, I do get your point, maybe it kind of a plot hole, but I think that since most people that know her, also know her feelings, from what little they could hear (since it everything seemed pretty quiet around them) they could understand what happened and why she did it and what she probably said before charging towards Pain. That's how I imagine things going. For example, Shizune didn't really notice the confession part; but the Genin 12 most assuredly did.

 **Breakblade:** When I said Taka, I meant his ability to summon a hawk that could help transport him or at least do reconnaissance. I did realize the risk when I wrote it, since I'm not sure he already had the ability at the time; but I decided to leave it at that. For the confession, I explained before (up) and as the Sound Four I suppose you are right; I am going to change it.

 **Haushinka-chan:** Ops, I admit I didn't pay attention that her stutter diminished on Shippuden. I'll gradually make it lessen then, but I like to make her stutter when she's nervous, like when she talks to Naruto, talks about Naruto, and same with Sasuke.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

The Hyuuga's corridor was dark and faintly lit by paper lanterns. The dark wood helped keep the atmosphere serene and gave advantage in case of enemy attack to the wielders of the Byakugan. Hinata's hand lay on that timber, while she looked blankly at the sky full of stars.

"Onee-san." Hinata heard the soft voice behind her. Hanabi was finally back from her trip with Father. Despite all the rough training, the callous on her hands and her well-trained muscles, Hanabi's face kept her childish features and her voice the softness of an infant. However, it only accentuated the fatigue she bore, the traits of tiredness and all the weight she was carrying on her shoulders.

"Hanabi..." Hinata stared at her, surprised. They had exchanged very few words these last few years, ever since Hinata first lost to her when they were young infants. She had caught her sister on her garden several times, always with a vacant stare, and despite her efforts to get closer, the older Hyuuga never knew how to react. But this time, the young sister looked at her with a determined look and her small fists clutched to her sides.

"I heard what happened while Father and I were out. Pain's attack." She said with a harsh voice. "You stupid one-san! How could you!" Her face suddenly decomposed. Hinata didn't know how to react. Hanabi hadn't showed emotions on her face for so long.

"I'm s-sorry."

"Stop apologizing too!" Her sister shouter at her face.

"What would I do if you had died? I would've been left all alone in this family! You can't! You can't leave me! I need you!" And as soon as she spoke, shaking her head frantically, she jumped on her sisters arms and hugged her with tears in her eyes.

Hinata stood still for a second. Before giving a faint smile and stroked her sister's hair, who had her face buried on her chest.

"I see, Hanabi-chan." It had been so long since she had used that suffix to call her younger sister. "I'm sorry that I was so reckless." Hanabi separated from her, her face now dry, although a bit red, but with a dignified look.

"I don't want us to be enemies or contenders for this family's succession. When I heard you had been gravely injured, I only thought… How I might've lost you without really spending time with you… Like mom." She looked at the ground.

"Hanabi…" Hinata stared at her wide-eyed. Her heart gushed with warmth for this petite figure… and shame. "I'm sorry I let us get to this state. It is my fault as your older sister." Hinata joined her hands in front and bowed. "Can you forgive me?"

"I was in the wrong too onee-chan. I let pride overtake me and listened obediently to all the Elders." Hanabi put her hand on Hinata's shoulder to make her raise. "Let's be sisters again, ok?" And she let out a small childish grin.

"Hai!" Hinata squeaked, crying.

* * *

"You seem to be getting along quite well with Hanabi-sama lately." Neji stated while sipping his tea, eyes closed. "Did something happen?"

Hinata smiled happily. "Hai! And she seems more lively too." She refilled her cousin's cup.

"I'm glad for you two, although the Elders are quite displeased with her new childlike behavior." He was glad to hear Hinata's faint giggle. Neji had only been called to spar with the youngest Hyuuga heir, but never had the opportunity to talk to her. Partly it was his fault, due to his rage and hatred towards the main family during his early teen days. But seeing that young, stoic face on such a child had been harsh to watch even for him. He was relieved to see that he wasn't the only Hyuuga that could change.

"I'm sure they'll get over it. And this time, I'll do my very best to support her if she needs me." Hinata said determined. Neji had also noticed her gradual change, and the biggest was her new-found unwavering determination. He would also be there to support her in whatever she needed. "We should arrange for the three of us to have some tea together some time." She said, pondering. "Hanabi asked a lot about you."

"I see no reason to refuse, Hinata-sama." Neji said in a reverence.

"Y-yamete. You know you don't need to call me like that when it's just us…" She replied, a faint blush of embarrassment on her face. "W-well, you'll be surprised, I didn't imagine she would be so talkative and energetic so suddenly." She tried to change the subject.

"I guess deep down, she had all these things she had always wanted to talk about with her older sister." Neji said with a knowing smile, which only made Hinata's embarrassment grow, with a faint touch of happiness.

Both Chuunins had very few days of calm like this one. Either they had missions, or were training diligently. However… those days would soon be over for a long time.

"Are you sure you want to go, Hinata-sama? The Elders would accept it if you stayed. They were pleased with your act during Pain's attack, and you have earned some respect. You don't need to stare down at death again." Neji frowned.

"What we decided, all of we, Genin 12, and then the Kage summit…" Hinata lowered her eyes.

Sasuke had attacked, becoming one of the most wanted by all nations. Former Team 7 had affronted him and somehow manage to stop his rampage, despite his success in killing Danzo, that had been the current Hokage filling in Tsunade's shoes. Hinata had been surprised to know that Kiba had helped Sakura and felt a bit disappointed for having missed the opportunity to try to reach Sasuke once more. But she did not waver in her statement in front of her colleagues.

"This is our fight Neji-nii-san. I can't back down. This is the path I want to walk, the path I chose for myself all these years ago." She looked straight at him. "Don't worry, I won't be a burden. A-at least I'll try my best."

Neji sighed. He knew he wasn't going to convince her. He at least had wanted to try. "I see Hinata-sama. But you better be ready, war is something no one or anything can prepare us for."

"I'm aware." Hinata said. "I-I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared, but…"

"You can only be brave when you are afraid?" He said, knowing her all-too-well.

"Hai!" She laughed when he beat her to it.

"Oh, and about what you asked, Lamia-sama would be happy to help. She told me you can go visit her whenever you want." He informed her and finished his cup.

"Thank you Neji-nii! I'll go as soon as I can then." She thanked, excited.

"Sounds good. I think it's a good fit for you."

"I hope so." She replied with her characteristic gentle smile.

* * *

Kurenai-san wore a long black dress. Her beautiful wavy hair was loose and flaking with the wind. Her stomach finally had started showing the package she was carrying inside her, and she usually found herself unconsciously caressing it. It seemed to be a kind of pregnant woman's reflex.

Hinata would be right on time, as usual. Her old sensei had wished to arrive earlier to breath before going heading there. It was always hard. Always heart-breaking.

"Kurenai-sensei, ohayo." Hinata greeted.

"Ohayo Hinata-chan." She smiled to her former student. She was wearing her usual clothes, most remarquable thanks to her lilac coat that hid her features. "Thank you for accompanying me."

"Y-you're welcome. I'd also like to pay my respects." She bowed respectfully.

The path to the cemetery was short. The grounds were vast, seeing how many ninja's lost their life working for the village, and every one of them had their names engraved on that place, in honor of their hard work. In accordance with the name of the village, there was a vast grass, green and well-maintaned. The paths were made of natural stone, and there were flowers starting to bloom everywhere all around.

"Aah, here we are again." Kurenai said in front of the tomb. _Asuma Sarutobi._ Still brand new. Both woman cleaned up the surroundings, as per costume, and Hinata laid down the flowers they had picked on it, next to other fresh ones someone else had left. "I still miss you, you idiot. Shikamaru wanted to come with me, but he's been very busy with all the preparations. He'll come by later. He visits me often. He's going to be a great godfather. You raised a good team, Asuma." Tears swelled up in her eyes. Hinata felt embarrassed being there, but knew better than to move. "But my team is also strong, see. Kiba has matured a bit, Shino is as discreet as always but strong and steady… and Hinata, well, I know I've talked too much about her to you, and you can see I was right. She has grown strong and beautiful, as we were sure she would. And our child… has been growing well. She is quite the quicker! Guess she'll have your nasty personality. I hope she does, so we'll laugh a lot together." Her voice trailed off. "I miss you, you idiot." She wiped her eyes away. "So the least you could do is watch out for our young warriors going to war soon." And she took the prayer stance to pay her respects to her beloved. Hinata did the same.

In that posture, Hinata was very focused and concentrated in that area. And suddenly she felt something, a chill down her spine. Something bad.

"Kurenai-sensei, go ahead, I'll catch up to you." She whispered, still in her prayer stance. Kurenai opened one eye, surprised.

"What-?"

"I just want to pay my respects a little longer." They exchanged looks and Kurenai understood. Given her current state, she no longer could afford to engage in battle, not only due to the risk she and her child incurred, but also because her battle style needed very precise chakra control for genjutsu and she no longer had that ease during pregnancy. Reluctant to leave her student alone with such danger, she still had to agree under Hinata's plea hidden on her pale eyes. Kurenai nodded and started walking away at a normal pace, and once out of the cemetary she would rush for help.

Once Hinata felt her far enough, she activated her Byakugan. She quickly scanned the surroundings until she noticed what had made her shiver. Once she saw him, she felt his strong chakra, however there was something very unusual in it. Before she could speak up, he materialized in front of her.

"Good instincts child. Surely not the same scared and spineless girl I saw in the Chuunin exams." The hissing voice said, smirking. The figure was hidden under a hood, but Hinata faintly recognized the voice. However, the chakra she felt was somehow familiar and at the same time not. She had not the faculty of Kiba to determine each person's chakra, but she recognized chakras she had already encountered or been around. This one was so bizarre, as if two were mixed. White hands with some scales raised and took the hood off. What Hinata saw was a grotesque face: skin paler than a corpse, eyes and mouth disfigured resembling those of a snake and… she recognized one of the contestants from that time. Kabuto. Orochimaru's spy.

"What are you doing here?" Hinata asked, trying her best not to shake and show confidence. She knew she was facing an enemy much stronger than her, but she needed to hold her ground. "How did you manage to come here unnoticed?" She asked narrowing her eyes and taking the Hyuuga stance, ready to attack or defend. It was difficult to understand what she was seeing in his chakra flow, it was nothing she had ever seen before.

"Oh, quite easily actually. Despite all your efforts to raise security after Pain's attack, everything is still in disarray in Konoha. And of course, no one has ever known all of Konoha's weak spots and paths better than Orochimaru-sama. But don't worry, I've only come to make preparations too." He said grinning horribly, extending his arms while he talked to show how unthreatened he felt. She couldn't afford to lose. She had to protect Kurenai that might still be too close if he wanted to hurt her, and she also had to protect the Byakugan from falling into their dangerous hands. "Although, it might be good to have one gift… If I remember correctly." He grinned, and from under his robes Hinata saw snakes shoot out towards her. She quickly pushed them aside with the gentle fist and took out a kunai to defend herself.

The snakes stood raised in the air, seeming attached to her assailants arms. She pondered if they were poisonous. Their species wasn't, but knowing Orochimaru and his experiments that wasn't reassuring enough. She lunged forward lowering her gravity center and passed them, going straight for their master. His snake-like tongue came out and hissed in amusement of her strategy. He immediately let of the snakes and took her head on, pushing her open palms with the side of his arms. Kabuto's taijutsu was on par with her memories of Sasuke's, but he had acquired a flexibility that made his movements quite unpredictable. She tried a kick filled with chakra, and hit one of his fingers. It wasn't much in terms of damage, but it should hinder him from doing some seals.

The moment she felt him try to open the distance between them, she prepared her defense, and right enough, a swarm of kunais came gushing from the air towards her. The Hyuuga used the Heavenly spin to ward all of them off, and tried to follow up with Eight Divinations Air Palm to damage her enemy from her position. Kabuto seemed surprised to see a ranged attack from a Hyuuga, but that only amused him and managed to dodge it by a hair's width.

"Tch" Hinata felt. He was just toying with her and she didn't know how to deal with him. Her best shot was to try to stay close and try to hit him in close range combat. It was her only strength.

Once more, she jumped and tried to raise her speed by increasing her leg strength with chakra control.

"Oh, quite skilled for an ex-heir." He exclaimed and took her head on. She kept pushing towards him. In a sudden movement, he gained the upped hand and pushed both her arms away and kicked her in the stomach raising to the air. He started making a seal, but noticed he couldn't complete it with his inactive finger. And Hinata used a spin to gain distance in the air.

"Not that I'm not having fun, but I think we better move. Our dear future mother should already have alerted for back-up to come. I have to be quick." And before she could try to defend herself, she was immediately rendered immobile by the two snakes from the start of the fight.

Kabuto scanned the surroundings while slowly approaching her. She was getting ready to use both Lion fist's when he got close, thinking it should be enough to break the snakes hold and manage to hurt him.

"Don't worry, I think Sasuke will be happy to see you."

And upon hearing the Uchiha's name, her surprise made her concentration fade and she was rendered unconscious before understanding where, or rather to whom, he wanted to take her.

* * *

"Hinata-sama!" Neji yelled, screening the cemetery and its surroundings. There was no sight of an enemy nor of his cousin. "Kso!" He yelled. He had gotten there too late.

"Nothing Neji?" Asked Anko, the jounin in charge of the back-up.

"No, they seem to be extremely skilled at hiding their tracks." He said through gritted teeth. "Do we know who they were?"

"No, not yet. But according to Kurenai, he or they must've been very dangerous."

The rest of the squad was analyzing the place where the struggle seemed to have occurred. Some traces on the grass and a bit of fabric seemed to be the only evidence recovered. No signs on what path the enemy could have taken to escape were noticeable.

Neji cursed himself. The main family had to be informed, they would freak at the risk of losing the Byakugan's secret. And he wanted to lash out from not having protected his family once more.

"We'll find her. It cannot be the other nations, none would risk that kind of tension in face of the war that's coming." She tried to reassure him. "That makes the list of suspects much smaller."

"We better find her, and soon."

"Anko-sama, we found a way to track him, the Aburame's insects can help us." One of the ninja's reported.

"Okay, let's get ready to pursue them." She ordered. "They might be far already, so this is a rescue mission."

"To be completed as soon as possible." Neji completed, dead serious.

* * *

Kabuto soon approached what he had found Madara's lair. He neared caredully but not hiding his presence, so his host would know he was asking for an invitation. He was soon relieved to see the two-coloured Zetsu show up on the entrance.

" _Guess he is interested in what I have to say."_

 _._

After showing Madara what he had brought, the old Uchiha seemed satisfied upon seeing the increase in fighting force Kabuto had to offer. Several Kages from all the villages, important Konoha ninja's and other corpses to scare any shinobi on the continent. Kabuto was also glad with that outcome; he knew he could not take care of Madara himself, but it would be good for later for him to try to gain any favor from the villain, specially to gather any information or secrets Madara could be hiding. Also, he needed a way to reach Sasuke…

"Seems good Kabuto. But Sasuke is off-limits for now. We'll see by the end of the war." Madara said curtly and short.

"I understand. We can discuss that after these other matters are settled." Orochimaru's former assistant hissed, much like his old master.

"Now leave, I need to strategize these new elements into my plan."

"As you wish."

And Kabuto went on to explore the rest of the lair.

.

Sasuke felt a chill in the air, a presence he knew couldn't be a good sign. He decided to leave his bed and go around for a tour. His mind still wondered about many things, and the procedure he had just undertook… had been very painful. But now he had powerful eyes, his brother Itachi's eyes. His brother had gone to great lengths to accomplish his goals, and so would Sasuke. The recovery had been slow and torturing, but the result… astonishing. He could feel the power, his limits lifting and the potential hidden on those orbs. But, what would he use it for?

So many questions he needed to ask himself before his next move, but before, he needed to find out what was that presence that was bothering him. And soon enough he found out. The hair on the back of his neck raised when he heard it's hiss.

"Hello Sasuke-kun." He said with a wide grin on his disfigured face.

"Kabuto." Was the only thing the Avenger answered. He remained aware of the individual's movements while passing beside him and noticed what had weirded him out. Orochimaru. The bastard had most assuredly sucked in the corpse of the old sannin, allowing that creature to persist in the world. However… he sensed another chakra. Another familiar chakra, warm and very faint.

Immediately Sasuke turned around, his eyes glowing red and rage consuming his face. He knew of Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu to raise the dead. He could not allow it. He could not allow for her body to be desecrated like that, for her soul not to have her rest.

"What are you…!" He started to shout threateningly.

Kabuto felt the power and the hatred directed towards him, and one look into the young boy's eye and he could see the amaxing power he now possessed. Getting his hands on the Uchiha boy might be more difficult than he had first planned. But he would not let it get in his way. "Oh, hard to surprise you then, with such sharp instincts." He said with a grin. "Here it is, all yours." And in a second he invoked from a scroll and from the smoke, a silhouette showed on Sasuke's feet. He remained immobile for a second, trying to see if it was a trap, his eyebrows joined in a frown. The Uchiha that always tried to remain calm was having a hard time thinking clearly at the moment. "No tricks." Kabuto assured him.

Sasuke kneeled and touched her. Her body was warm. Her skin was pale, but her usual pale and not corpse-like pale. He noticed her chest rise and fall, slowly but surely, much like he had watched and felt on those cold nights in that cave. Incomprehension befell his face.

" _Hm… Maybe I hit the jackpot with my gift. Apparently some of Madara's plans did not involve this particular meeting."_ Kabuto thought satisfied. It would be in his best interest if Sasuke did not trust Madara as much as he did before. "I shall take my leave now, Sasuke-kun, hope you'll enjoy my gift." He said and left. As much as it pained him to leave such a splendid opportunity to study the Byakugan, the Sharingan was worth the sacrifice and a long-term plan. After all, it was what his master had given it all for.

" _How come… I thought she…"_ Sasuke's frown increased. Madara had lied to him. He knew he had an attachment. He had wanted to break it. He deliberately did. Another person who played him. Not that he had not imagined the possibility he was being manipulated, he just didn't mind what he had been manipulated _for._ Her small frame in his arms felt good, relieving and soothing. He did not even realize his heart had been aching before, but it was very much so at that moment.

Despite all the new questions he had now, he decided the most diligent thing would be to get her out of there. Madara might decide to off her, if she could present the risk of their homebase being found. He quickly put some distance from the base and laid her on the grass delicately. After waiting half an hour, she finally blinked, and slowly opened her eyes. Kabuto did not hurt her much, he probably knew it would have brought Sasuke's anger to a turmoil point.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Hinata whispered, hardly believing what she was seeing. Who she was seeing. "H-how…? Where am I…?" She said faintly. "Are you okay?" She asked next.

" _Idiot"_ he thought. She was the one tied up and captured, and she asked if he was okay. Did she know he had attacked the Kage summit? He almost killed Sakura several times? He had killed Danzo? He did not dare answer her. He only kneeled down and cut the ropes attached to her with a kunai.

Hinata blushed seeing him approach her so closely and avoided looking into his eyes. She noticed his face was somber, stoic, but failed to see the storm hidden in those dark orbs. "Thank you." She whispered. She quickly analyzed any possible injuries and was surprised to see none, only the snake bites from her earlier fight, but none serious. It pained her to have lost so miserably, and to seem to have been once more rescued by someone else.

"You fool." He said emotionless. "You let yourself be captured? In the middle of Konoha? What about the Byakugan?" His voice and his tone started to raise slowly. "And you risked your life, for that idiot blonde?!"

"Wha-wha!" She uttered, surprise in seeing Sasuke talk to her like that. "I-I did not let myself be captured because I wanted to…" she murmured.

Sasuke did not even hear it. He kept on going. "Like Naruto needed saving! As if he deserved it, if he wants to take me on. If he needed saving from you, he would be better off dead, that dobe!"

Hinata flushed, how could he talk like that about Naruto-kun! "H-he did his best! And d-didn't really need my help, I _wanted_ to risk my life to help him." She tried to defend despite having difficulty voicing her words.

"And, when I thought you had died…" His voice trailed off. He stood up and turned his back to her.

" _Why would you_?" She wanted to ask. She got up too but having being knocked out and raising her blood pressure so much, she felt faint and put her back against a tree for support.

Sasuke turned around and pressed against her, his face inches from hers. He was relieved to see her. To hear her voice, to smell her fragrance, to feel her presence. He wanted to take her in his arms and hug her tightly. It took all he had to refrain himself from doing it. She had raised her arms on her chest defensively, as if ready to fend him off if her tried anything weird; but oddly enough, she did not do it when he was so close to her, as if she did not really want to fight against it. Her flushed face was cute and determined, despite her weakness. He contented himself on putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it very tightly, almost hurting her. "But I'm glad to see you are okay." He whispered so discreetly she barely heard him.

"Come, I'll take you back to Konoha." He said curtly, Hinata feeling his hot breath on her face. And he stepped back as quickly as he had closed the distance previously.

That moment made her hesitate, but she quickly shook her head and moved quickly to try and follow his pace. They weren't very far, Madara having chosen the lair closest to his biggest enemies, as if to taunt them, being right under their noses. They travelled silently, but it did not bother any of them, both being silent by nature. They had met several times now under special circumstances, and despite it having to be complicated… it never really seemed to be like that. Hinata felt safe with Sasuke. All the fear and danger she had felt upon being with Kabuto had vanished the moment she opened her eyes and saw Sasuke. Despite everything she heard, she knew he would not harm her.

After several hours moving at high speed, Sasuke stopped.

"A squad is moving towards here, probably from Konoha following Kabuto's trail." Sasuke explained to her. He was amazing, Hinata had to activate her Byakugan and really concentrate to localize the tiny traces of chakra approaching their location from far away. " _That bastard Kabuto did not really hide his traces, he deliberately was leading them towards us. What is he planning…"_ Sasuke wondered.

"I'll go join them. Thank you Sasuke-kun." She said with a bow. "Ano… Won't you come back with me?" She asked, knowing she was repeating herself, but feeling obligated to at least ask.

Sasuke smirked lightly, like the boy he used to be in Konoha years ago. "You know I'm an officially wanted man in all five nations, right?" He asked ironically.

"I-I do. But…" She asked and not knowing what to say afterwards, she raised a hand to her chin, trying to find a solution.

Sasuke almost laughed. "It's not something you can solve, Hinata. It was the point of no return. I can never go back now, I killed your Hokage."

Hinata looked straight at his eyes. She saw so many different things in them. "I know. But he was not a saint either. I don't condone killing, which I know is stupid being a ninja… but I can't hold it against you either. Neither did Naruto-kun." She said, straight-forward. Sasuke flinched hearing his old rival's name come out of her lips. He did not like it. "You could've killed Sakura, but you did not." He did not like that name there either. "Plus… you are always so kind to me, I believe you are a good person, who hasn't found the right path yet." She completed. He noticed it took a lot of her courage to say it all out loud.

He quickly jumped onto her and pushed her to the floor. She let out a small squeak, which amused him and satisfied his desire to punish her. His arms were on each of her sides, she was leaning on her elbows, as he lay on top of her. "S-Sasuk-!" She tried to say, but before she could finish calling out to him, he silenced her with his lips. His mouth pressed onto her own, demanding, but only for a few seconds, which felt like a lifetime. Finally, she pushed him away, and he let her do it.

Hinata's face was deep red, and she did not dare raise her eyes. Sasuke felt electricity go through his body when they had finally connected, and he couldn't stop the longing feeling he started to feel, wanting more. He looked at the petite figure, sitting in front of him, defensively, but not seeming hurt or scared. Only surprised. Maybe his jealousy had paid off. Even he did not know what had come onto him so strongly that he did not stop himself from doing such an impulsive thing.

"I am not a good person anymore Hinata, and I don't know what path I'm going to follow yet. I've been following what others told me to do, what others wanted me to do. I want to follow what I want, but I still don't know what it is." Sasuke spoke, looking straight at her. Then he looked up at the sky. "I once told Naruto he couldn't understand me, because he had never lost anyone close to him, and that's why we couldn't see eye to eye and get along with each other. But you… I don't need you to understand me, and I don't want you to. I hope you never will. I hope you'll stay pure and naïve as you are. I'll hope you'll stay you, and that's all I still ask of this wretched world." He said, closing his eyes.

"W-why me?" She asked, trying to process everything, her face still burning, and possibly her entire body.

"Maybe because I want only one person to remember me differently." He suggested. "No, because I need to remind myself that the path I'll choose will not be fate nor destiny. I will have chosen it myself, while deciding to leave all other things out of my life."

" _He did not answer my question."_ She sulked. He answered the 'why' and not the 'why me'.

"I hope you'll forgive me for stealing your first kiss, but I couldn't help myself." He said turning his back to her. He slowly turned around to look at her one last time, and his from his profile, Hinata could see the boyish smirk that made all the Academy girls weak to his charms.

She knew she couldn't follow him with the Konoha team approaching and the risk of getting too close to his base. But also because her knees were too weak to even stand up. She was mad at him. She was sad for him. But she also didn't really want him to leave.

"Why do this to me, to in the end tell me he wants to leave me behind..." She sulked. "Sasuke Uchiha, you are cruel." She whispered.

Hinata Hyuuga had actually liked that kiss.

 **End of Chapter 7**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 ** _Well, that's it for now. Be back soon enough, I promise. R &R if you can, please :)_**

 ** _And thanks for 100+ reviews until now, and all those that have favorited or are following!_**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

"I understand it was you who asked for me, Hinata-sama?" Asked the old lady standing in front of the young Hyuuga heir. Her hair was white with some streaks of the brown hair the Hyuuga family usually carried. Hinata's indigo color was a rare trait that her mother had been the only one to bear.

"Yes, Lamia-san." Hinata answered while bowing respectfully. "I know I don't have much time, but I would like to learn what I can. I-I'll be diligent and serious." She said, determined. She was trying her best to not stutter, to keep her straight face while asking a favor.

"Child, it would be my pleasure to teach the Hyuuga heir what I know." The elder answered with a smile. "I understand you are quite skilled at chakra control already, I had wondered why you did not follow this path, especially seeing your knowledge of medicinal herbs."

"The main family has never been support in battles… But I would like to be able to be of more help to my team. And my friends." She explained.

"I see. Well, let's head down, I have some things prepared since young Neji-san came to see me."

Both women went down a spiral wooden staircase. It was a dim-lit basement, the smell of old paper and herbs hanged in the air. Lamia went around lighting candles and Hinata approached the center of the room.

"There are many ways for Hyuuga's to be medic-nins. If you think of our ability, this role is almost natural for our family." The wise lady started saying while lightning the last light. She turned to face Hinata, who was listening carefully. "We can see the chakra flow, analyze it, and as such we can stop it, we can mend it and even amplify it, although for combat that technique is mostly forbidden.

Usually medic-nins transform their own chakra into healing chakra and apply it to wounds, others use the patient's own chakra pathways and work with it. The second one is very easy for us, since we can _see_ exactly where we need to put pressure to work the chakra, whereas other ninjas need years to learn to pinpoint these specific spots. Hinata-sama, I believe, seeing our tight schedule, you should first learn which points are important to increase an individual's healing speed, and we might be able to teach some first-aid ninjutsu. However, child, being a medic is intense and requires a lot of concentration."

"Hai. Thank you very much Lamia-sensei. I'm ready to give it my all."

Lamia smiled upon seeing the determined look on the young Chuunin face. "Good. I think you can become one of the best healers in Hyuuga history."

* * *

"Nee-sama, are you sure you need to go?" Hanabi asked, some longing in her voice, her childish mannerisms appearing slightly. "You could stay here and defend the compound with me."

Hinata caressed her head like she always wanted to do as her elder sister. She felt heavy wearing the Shinobi Alliance uniform, but proud to do so at the same time.

"Hanabi-chan, I trust you can do it without my help. I need to go and stand with my friends, with my comrades. I-"

Hanabi cut her off, turning her back on her and flicking her hair. "That is what you must do. I know. I still wanted to ask though."

"We'll take care of her, Hanabi, don't worry." Neji said behind the two girls. He was also in uniform, but on him it seemed to fit perfectly.

"Hmpf, who knows, maybe she'll take care of you, Neji-nii-san." Hanabi said sticking her tongue out. Neji put a hand behind is head, not knowing how to deal with such a childish heir.

"Now, now, we'll take care of each other, alright?" Hinata said, and in her mind she hoped she wouldn't be a burden to her cousin. She felt she could handle herself, and like many times before, she was ready to give her life for a cause she believed in, and this one was to protect Naruto, of all. She could never sit this one out.

"I'm proud of you, Hinata-nee-san. Come back in one piece, okay?" Hanabi asked, a bit serious all of a sudden. Hinata blinked a bit startled; she didn't know if she could actually make that promise. "You too Neji-nii-san." She said, and pouted when they did not answer right away.

"We'll do our best, Hanabi." An older voice said from behind her. As current head of the Hyuuga clan, Hiashi Hyuuga had a dignified tone and imposed his position on his listener. Hinata and Neji both bowed their heads immediately in respect of the clan leader. "Raise your heads. We'll all be the same in this war. Our responsibility is to uphold the clan's name in this war, and execute our role in the Alliance." He stated. Neji looked straight at him. They had not spoken much even after the Chuunin exams, when Hiashi told him what had happened exactly with his father, Hizashi, but he had changed the way he saw the Hiashi and respected him more than ever.

"Father," Hanabi held her right fist into the palm of her hand and looked down to speak to her father. "Take care. I shall honor my position as protector of the household in your absence." The small figure said solemnly.

Hiashi looked at his youngest daughter and saw how mature she was when she needed to be. Sometimes he asked himself if he had not been to harsh on such a young child, and too severe with the oldest. He looked at Hinata and realized she still always avoided his eyes. He sighed and walked past her, but stopped some steps further.

"I'm also proud of you Hinata. Keep honoring the family name. I expect good things from you." He said softly, but Hinata heard him. She fought back the tears that had formed on her eyes.

"Hai, otou-sama." She answered, knowing he heard her too.

* * *

 _The third Shinobi war had started. At first, it had been a battle to protect Naruto and Bee, jinchuurikis of the Nine-tailed beast and the Eight-tailed beast, from being captured by Akatsuki. However, they both joined the battle and had managed to re-balance the scale of the fight, despite their opponents being the legendary Madara Uchiha resurrected with the Edo tensei, and Tobi which had been impersonating Madara._

It all had started to work out in his mind when Sasuke felt a familiar chakra that should not exist anymore. He wasn't sure of himself, which was quite rare, but if he was right it was exactly what he had been needing.

At that moment, before discovering that chakra, he had not made a move yet, unsure of what his goal should be, and how to obtain it. He still had too many questions left unanswered by his now dead brother, especially after most of his secrets had finally been unveiled. He knew what was going on but did not know how he should be involved. Which side should he pick. What did he want to protect… or what did he want to destroy. His thoughts sometime wavered towards a girl, which he knew he shouldn't let distract him. He wondered how she would fare in the war. She seemed to innocent to survive the horrors of such an upscale battle. And the many losses that it would certainly ensue.

He had moved to find that chakra and had found out he was right. His brother, Itachi Uchiha, which he had killed with his own two hands, was here thanks to the resurrection jutsu Kabuto had used. After fighting together against his summoner, Sasuke finally had gotten the chance to get some of the answers he so desired. The time with his brother had not been enough, and anyway it would never have been.

Afterwards Orochimaru, also revived from one his cursed seals, tried to help him find his path too, by interrogating the four previous dead Kages. And now he knew he had to move to battlefield.

His choice had been made. He was a bit glad he had managed to steal a kiss from Hinata Hyuuga before having to cut her from his life definitely. He would have to get rid of Naruto to accomplish his goal, but as for her, he only needed to never approach her again. Knowing her, he did not need worry about her forcing herself onto him. Knowing her, she would probably be the only person left after Naruto to understand why he would do what he would do. And maybe it would be her that later would explain to the world what he had accomplished. And he was glad it would be her and no one else.

* * *

Hinata was trying to deliver first aid to any injured around her. It had been very useful to learn before leaving for the war, it helped a lot of people and allowed her mind to concentrate on the tasks in front of her. Her Byakugan was also very useful at spotting injured shinobis on the battlefield.

"Hinata, can you see what is going on?" Asked Ino beside her. Both her and Kiba had felt something weird where the main fight against Madara had been going on. Naruto and Sasuke were finally fighting together.

Everyone had been surprised when Sasuke suddenly showed and spouted that he was back to be Hokage. It was so sudden and out of character that it almost seemed like a joke, despite Sasuke having said it dead serious. What did he expect to accomplish by being Hokage? What did he mean by it? He'd glanced at her and she couldn't help but blush remembering the sensation of his lips on hers. Hinata almost had hit herself to stop her mind from wandering in the battlefield. And then he rushed to the center before anything could be said. And now she knew he was in a dire situation. Naruto had just lost the Kyuubi and Gaara and Sakura had headed out to try to save him.

"Sasuke-kun is not good either… His vitals seem to be disappearing slowly…" She whispered so lowly Ino almost didn't hear her. Both women had trouble accepting what Hinata just said out loud. Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji all wore grim faces. Hinata felt her heart ripped out, watching so many people important to her lose their lives.

"Naruto-kun… Sasuke-kun… and even Neji-nii-san…" She started to lose it. Watching Sasuke's chakra disappear slowly, so far away where she couldn't do anything to try, was the last straw. She had been trying to hold herself together after Neji died, for Naruto's sake, but it was too much.

" _You can't both die too. You need to survive. You need to get up again! Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!"_ She wanted to yell but her voice wouldn't come out. She wanted to cry her eyes out but she didn't seem to have even strength to shed a tear. She stood frozen.

"Hinata! Hinata! Snap out of it! Ino said she's sensing a weird chakra where Sasuke's disappeared, what's going on!" Kiba's voice snapped her out of it. She blinked blankly for a few seconds before reacting.

"H-hai! Byakugan!" It was hard to recompose herself. Her kekkei genkai activated and she concentrated hard to watch what was unfolding. "It's… Kabuto. He's _healing_ Sasuke. Orochimaru and the prisoner from the Kage summit is there too with two more people.

It's… working. Sasuke is getting up."

"Thank Kami…" Ino whispered, and Hinata agreed from the bottom of her heart.

"He's fine. He is heading this way."

As soon she said it, all ninja gathered around her could discern the figure approaching them at top speed. He had healed so correctly, he seemed in top form.

"Where is Naruto?" He asked. Hinata didn't hear what the others answered, she only looked at him, extremely relieved of to see him well. Part of her wanted to ask him to stay there, to not go, to stay there with them, safe and sound. But she knew she couldn't. As if he would listen to anyone but himself.

"I see." He did not say thanks, like his usual self. She could see that it annoyed Shikamary and Kiba, how he acted as his high and might self from their younger days. He glanced at her once more, but this time his look lingered. He seemed… relieved. But before she could do anything or say anything, he closed his eyes and turned his head. And as soon as he showed, he left.

"Be careful." Was what she had meant to say.

* * *

"What happened?" Hinata rubbed her head, and while regaining consciousness, she rubbed her body of the vines that had been wrapped around her. She remembered seeing a blood moon and then… Everything felt a bit fuzzy and at the same time so real. It had been the infinite Tsukuyomi. They had all been trapped. But if they were out now… it meant Naruto and Sasuke had succeeded in defeating the enemy.

She remembered bits and pieces of the powerful genjutsu. She was on a bench with Naruto-kun, and Neji and Hanabi were there spying on them. But there was also… Sasuke-kun. He had been there too… But in what way? She couldn't remember clearly.

Her head ached and before she could ponder too much, she heard Kiba's growl beside her, and Shino's mutters not far away. Shikamaru and Ino were helping Chouji get rid of the rest of the vines and everyone around them seemed to be getting free.

They had won the war.

* * *

"What did those two idiots do!" Kiba yelled, frustrated.

"They saved the world, dumbass." Ino yelled back.

"And almost killed each other afterwards." Chouji completed munching on a mouthful of chips.

"Those idiots, they couldn't just enjoy the victory. So troublesome." Shikamaru complained.

"Good luck being their advisor then!" Ino said with a grin.

"I'll only be an advisor for Naruto, as if Sasuke could be Hokage after all the crimes he pulled of." The Nara stated.

"Nah, you'll be _MY_ advisor, Shika!" Kiba added, goofy and Hinata and Shino did not have the heart to tell him the unlikeliness of that happening.

"Ah, shut up, here comes Forehead with both of them!" Ino yelled being louder than the ones she told to be silent.

Sakura was carrying Naruto, and Kakashi had Sasuke leaning on his shoulder. They both were in a very bad state. Their chakra was depleted and the extent of their injuries unimaginable. All of their comrades were shocked to see they had both lost an arm…

"These idiots…!" Ino started to say, but even for her it was too hard to find words to comment.

"Ino, we'll need your help in the medical department, they are very injured, and the ward must already be full." Sakura called her former rival and friend.

"I was already going anyway, don't need to boss me around, huge forehead!" Ino spoke as usual, despite the situation, her answer being a reflex.

"Just listen to what I tell you, Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled back and moved abruptly, causing Naruto to wince.

"Sakura-chan~ could you be a bit more gentle, it hurts you know…" Naruto moaned.

"SHUT UP DOBE!" Both loud women yelled at the patient, and he sighed and tried to bear his pain. Ino took Naruto's free side and helped carry him towards the hospital, all while fighting verbally with the pink-haired kunoichi.

Kakashi had stopped at the entrance, waiting for the turmoil to calm down. Sasuke was in as much a bad shape as Naruto but seemed to be having less than a rough time than Naruto. Apparently Kakashi had been gentler. His right eye was too swollen to see correctly, but he seemed to recognize everyone. Kakashi started moving forward again when the loud procession had a considerable distance from him.

"How is he, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked preoccupied.

"He should be fine. Sakura stopped the bleeding early enough, but they both need urgent treatment if they want to recover properly." Kakashi briefed her. "I remember you have some knowledge of medicinal herbs? Did you train in medical ninjutsu?" The copy-nin asked, despite his smile indicating he already knew the answer.

"H-hai! I have a bit of knowledge… But I'm not very good yet..." She answered shyly.

"Come, I think we'll need all the help we can get. Plus, what best guinea pigs than these guys?" The team 7 sensei smiled behind his mask. "They don't seem to break easily anyway."

"Kakashi, you bastard, hurry up." Sasuke muttered under his breath. His good eye lay on Hinata for a while. "You better do a good job healing me." He told her. "And don't do anything weird while I'm passed out." He said serious, but she could see a glint in his eye of amusement at her blush.

"I would never!" She answered bright red. He was the one to do indecent things without permission, not her. He almost laughed, but instead she saw him cough up blood. She held back her wish to hold him and caress him. But instead decided to do what she could. "I'll go get what I have of medicine at home and I'll come straight away." She told Kakashi.

"Good. I'll tell them you are coming. Thank you Hinata." Kakashi watched the girl sprint away and resumed his march. "So, even away from Konoha you managed to charm your way into another young innocent kunoichi's heart?" He asked jokingly to his student.

Sasuke coughed blood before answering. "It's more like she charmed her way into mine." He answered, and his answer surprised Kakashi. There were still many things he had to see in this world then.

* * *

Hinata rushed to the hospital carrying lavender herbs and scrolls to guide her into what she would have to do. Lamia-san had lent her everything she had on amputated members and how to deal with it. Hinata was nervous, however she also wanted to do everything she could to help.

"Hinata, over here!" She heard the loud voice of the Gokage calling for her.

The hospital was in a rush everywhere, people kept coming in stretchers, brought in by comrades and medics and nurses yelling where to place them and who should be treated first. Naruto and Sasuke had lost a considerable amount of blood and had sustained innumerable serious injuries, which made them the most important urgency at the moment.

"Good, I see you have been training the Hyuuga techniques. It'll be quite useful since I'm running low on chakra." Tsunade said, and Hinata noticed the traits of old age on her hands. "Naruto has the Kyuubi chakra that is helping, despite its exhaustion, his healing, Sakura should be enough for now. Sasuke however, needs more delicate care. I'll need you to touch all of the points to increase his healing ability and free his remaining chakra potential without freeing too much. Do you think you can handle it?" Tsunade stared serious at the girl's face to see if she hesitated. If she did, she was not ready.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." The girl looked dead serious and looked for the scroll she would need and how to control the chakra release.

"Good." Tsunade smiled. "We have a lot of work to do."

"A-ano, I also brought lavender to soothe pain."

Tsunade looked at her bag of herbs, and smiled devilishly. "These two can take pain, especially after acting like idiots. But I'll take it for the other patients, our stock on painkillers was running low. Thank you." She took the bag and gave it to the first nurse that passed them.

"Follow me Hinata, it's through here." She said moving fast and avoiding all the people running past and through them. "And more importantly, for their arms… It's going to be very delicate and we can only count on you. I'm going to work on a way to retrieve their arms, so you will have to direct a lot of healing chakra towards the severing wound, but block it mildly so it cannot heal completely. If it cicatrizes too much, we won't be able to reattach a limb to it, so it needs to remain three quarters healed. I'll tell you exactly what to do, because I don't think it has ever been done before."

Hinata nodded, she needed to be precise.

* * *

Hinata wiped the sweat of her forehead, and sat down on the chair beside his bed. She had already gone to see Naruto, who had woken up earlier, and then got taken along by Sakura to help with other patients. Her eyes and her clan's technique had been quite useful in saving some of medics chakra and it made Hinata glad to have been of use.

She had finally earned a breather and Tsunade told her to go see Sasuke, who should be waking up soon. Sakura was with Naruto during her break. Hinata didn't mind much, she was just glad to see that both of them were okay. It had been hard to see them withstand all the pain, Naruto even yelled sometimes, Sasuke tried to held his tongue tightly, but their faces betrayed the suffering they were in. Once they had finally gotten some sleep, everyone was relieved for their saviors.

"So, a new technique, huh?" Sasuke's voice was raspy from having just woken up and it had startled Hinata to hear him all of a sudden. "You couldn't do any medical jutsu back in the mountain."

"Yes," she blushed mildly at remembering that encounter. "but I'm not good yet. Tsunade-sama told me all the time exactly what to do."

"Sounds good enough for me." He said, closing his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered.

Hinata smiled. But then she noticed his left shoulder twitch, right where he now had not a left arm. Her smile faded, she wondered how he would react to it. Sasuke winced in pain and looked at his stump. He did not seem fazed, angry or sad. It was just an assessment.

"Hum, Tsunade-sama is working on Hashirama cells to see if they can grow back a limb, so, don't lose hope…" She tried to say but noticed too late it was also cruel to give him false hope.

"Don't worry. This is okay for now. I have much to atone." He stated, and despite what he said, she looked worried.

"B-but you helped win the war, save the world… Save us." She argumented. "It has to count for something."

"For everything I've done, it's not enough for me to be forgiven." He countered.

"It was enough for me." She said with a smile. It made him almost give her one back.

"You've forgiven me for _everything_?" He asked with a smirk.

When Hinata understood what he was talking about, she became like a ripe tomato, mumbled a bit, stood up and left.

Sasuke laughed a little. He loved tomatoes.

 **End of Chapter 8**

* * *

 **END OF PART I**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 ** _I know, it's quite the short chapter. Be lenient, it was very hard to input the War here, because since I want it to be able to be inserted into Canon, it was extremely difficult to find some openings to make something out of it without completely skipping the war._**

 ** _As I said before, if you do not remember much of the manga, it could be difficult to follow the succession of events, and since I reread it before writing the fanfic, I might not realize it, so feel free to tell me if I lost you on the way so I can correct it :D (but be nice though, my heart is fragile sometimes)._**

 ** _Anyway, thank you for your patience, thank you for reading and a special thanks to those that leave a review, or favorited or became followers of the story!_**

 ** _So the canon part is over, and now we are going to part II which won't be canon but will allow me to concentrate on the SasuHina moments and the rated M parts we've all been waiting!_**


	10. Chapter 9

**Beginning of Part II: Chapter 9**

* * *

Months had passed since the War. Konoha was about to be completely finished and restored back to its original layout, with few modifications. All Shinobi had given their all to speed up the process, making out-of-city missions lessen, and jounin were found to be doing the same work as the new genin. It helped build better relations between colleagues and work the trust of the shinobi and the citizens. Tsunade had acted as Hokage for some time after the War, but decided to retire as soon as Kakashi had been groomed enough for the position. The world was at a moment of peace and reconstruction.

Sakura had been bound to the hospital to continue treatment on the major injuries of the war, and Tsunade had spent a lot of time on her research on Hashirama cells with the help of Yamato and bodies of white zetsus. It seemed to be advancing greatly, but not enough.

"God damn it!" The Gokage cursed, with another failure in front of her.

"Calm down, Tsunade-sama, it is better than last time." Shizune tried to do damage control. She knew her boss was determined, like when she helped the young Rock Lee recover from his extensive injuries due to the Chuunin exam; but she always got frustrated with her failed attempts.

"I'm taking a break. Let's go to the bar, Shizune!" She yelled and moved out quickly.

Sakura walked past her old teacher, who was storming out of the hospital as it seemed, and worried that the research was at a standpoint. Shizune was hurrying behind and saw the sad look on the pink-haired girl's face.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, she has made huge progress, but there is still one thing missing. I'm sure she'll find it, so keep working hard." She reassured her fellow apprentice.

"Shizune, hurry! You've got the money!" Tsunade yelled from afar. Her assistant shivered and quickly picked up the pace leaving Sakura behind with an apologetic face.

Sakura smiled and felt she could trust her teacher to succeed, despite her present state. What actually worried her most was… that she still had not seen Sasuke seem the Anbu squad took him after his recovery three months ago. Naruto and her had frequently pestered Tsunade for information, they even pleaded to Kakashi to help influence his case, but they had not managed to obtain any information. Apparently he had not been thrown to jail, and she knew Tsunade would not have executed Sasuke without holding a trial.

"I hope he is okay…" She thought, and hurried to her next patient.

* * *

Sasuke had been held prisoner on the Anbu Torture and Interrogation force. He was held from his remaining arm hung to the ceiling and his eyes were veiled with a cloth containing a seal to block him from using his sharingan. The seal was powerful enough to stop any of his regular eye techniques but did not take into account the Rinnegan he had acquired during the fight against Madara. However, Sasuke had not resisted. When Ibiki came to look for him, he left himself be caught and had been as cooperative as he possibly could, being himself. They had asked all kinds of information on Orochimaru, Akatsuki, his own group Taka. He had only resisted on giving specific information on his former comrades but gave everything else willingly. One of the guard had started torturing him to get him to answer about Juugo, but he had been stopped by Tsunade who told him it wasn't important. Afterwards, they only came to give him food and water and he lay there, waiting. It had been two months since the last interrogation.

The rest and quiet had not been mind-torturing, as that place had probably been built for. For Uchiha Sasuke it had been time to think, to atone and sometimes… just incredibly dull. He meditated a lot and simply slept. To avoid his muscles from atrophying, he did pull-ups with his one arm and his chains when he didn't sense any guards near enough to hear, sit-ups, stretches any kind of movement he could do.

Until finally, one day the door opened and he heard a familiar voice.

"Sasuke. It's time to get out of here and face your crimes." He heard Kakashi say. "Clean him up and bring him to my office." He ordered the other ninjas. Sasuke understood he had come only to check that he was still alive. It could only mean that there had been some discussion about that fact and that all of Danzo's faction might still be a worry. He tsk'd, Kakashi might as well be actually checking if he himself had not killed anyone else.

He felt the person beside him wimper when he made a noise. "So the initiation is to send the newbie deal with the most dangerous criminal, huh" he thought and almost smiled. It pleased him to know he was feared, but it contradicted his with his need to be forgiven. _"Some traits can't be corrected, I guess."_ He used as an excuse for his not hero-like behavior. The person finally regained her movement and detached his restraints. He made a motion to rub his aching wrist, only to realize the stupidity of it. He sighed. It would take some time to get used to his new three-limb situation. With one hand he undid the seal and got rid of what was hindering his sight. The room had always been dark and empty, the only light coming from the open door cell.

"I-I'll show you where you can shower and we'll give you clean clothes." Said the shinobi by his side. When Sasuke turned around to look at him, he shivered from the being under the sight of the Rinnegan.

"Very well. Thank you." He thanked to get the guard to move. The poor bastard almost ran out of the cell.

"If they are getting me cleaned and setting me free, I guess it's not an execution for now, huh." He thought out loud. That was good news. Probably.

* * *

 _Knock, knock, knock._

"Oh, I need to go Lamia-san. That's Hanabi calling me. Thank you very much for the session." Hinata said in a hurry and bowed. She quickly cleaned the desk and put away in a box all of the ointments and creams that had been on the table.

Three knocks was Hanabi's way to tell her she was late. She had taken up the same codes Hinata used to have with Neji.

 _._

 _The day of the ceremony, r_ _ain had poured down as if shedding tears with the ones who lost a loved one._ _Rain had poured down as if shedding tears with the ones who lost a loved one._ _The funeral for the lives lost during the war had been the most saddening event for the whole city. Everyone that had survived had come to pay their respects to the fallen. It had been difficult to accept so many new graves into the Konoha cemetery, and one was especially painful for Hinata Hyuuga. She had been there before anyone had come and had stayed there after everyone left. Many people had come to see him off, Tenten and Lee stayed a long time with her at his grave after the end._

 _During the war, they did not have the time or the luxury to grieve. Right after, there was so much to do, that it had also been a moment of frailty to be postponed. But when she saw his name on the scripture, it had been heart-breaking. She felt the sky crumble and her stomach turn. At first, it had been too much, she had cried her heart out, she had wanted to scream, and she felt so much sadness inside of her it felt like it would never fade. The thought of him being gone, not being there smiling beside her, training with her teammates, falling in love, dating, getting married… So much he would miss because he was now gone. It was too sad… Too painful._

 _The tragedy of it was too real and too hurtful, she suffered until she felt dull. That's when she knew it was time to go._

 _Saying goodbye felt like ripping her heart apart. But after a whole day there, she had to let go. She kneeled in front of his tombstone and caressed the engravement marking his name._

 **Hyuuga Neji**

 _ **the bird who flew out of his cage**_

" _Neji-nii-san. Thank you for giving me a chance to be in your life. Thank you for being there to support me and Hanabi-chan. Thank you for everything you did. We're all going to miss you too much." Her voice started to break, so she paused and took a deep breath. "Rest in peace, cousin." She whispered as tears ran down her face._

 _As she walked past the graveyard's gates, she noticed a small figure sitting down beside the wall. She looked tired and sleepy, and she rubbed her pale eyes._

" _Onee-san, shall we go home now?" Hanabi asked, yawning._

 _Hinata was surprised at first and then smiled, while drying her last tears with her sleeve. "Yes, we shall, Hanabi-chan." She answered and noticed Hanabi's eyes were red as well as her nose, and she still sniffed a little. Hinata likewise always felt sleepy after bawling so much. The older Hyuuga took her sister's hand into hers. They both shared a sad but warm smile._

 _They had mourned, and they would grieve a bit longer, but they would do it with a bit less sorrow tomorrow and then a bit less the day after._

.

Afterwards, both sister begun training together in secret, despite each being quite occupied with missions or duties from the Council.

"Hinata, Otou-san wants to speak to both of us." Usually Hanabi greeted her with a sheepish smile and child-like mannerisms. This time, her younger sister was serious.

"Okay, let's go." Hinata answered, trying to look calm, but inside she was terrified of what she would have to face.

* * *

"Sasuke, it has been very hard and long to negotiate on your behalf. We were working on an Alliance between the five hidden villages, so we had to wait before asking such a favor and I hoped Tsunade would take care of it but she left it to me, so it hasn't been easy you see-" Kakashi had been rambling on for the past five minutes and Sasuke was barely paying attention.

He looked outside the Hokage's office window and analyzed how the village had recovered from all the destruction. He didn't realize how much he had missed the sun. All he wanted was to go outside and lay down on a tree and bask in its light.

"So in conclusion, thanks to your assistance in defeating the Infinite Tsukuyomi and much of Naruto's influence and mineself included, you are hereby pardoned from all your crimes." Kakashi announced with a smile hidden behind his mask.

Upon hearing the last part, Sasuke glared at him. "That seems too good to be true." He murmured.

Kakashi gave him a knowing look. He knew his student very well. "It is what it is Sasuke. It doesn't mean people will acclaim you as a hero now, but regarding the laws of this new World and Era, you are not a missing-nin anymore or a wanted man." Kakashi sighed as he spoke. "How you feel about it, though, I cannot do anything."

"People won't accept me back after all I did." He stated. His reputation had been stained with too much of good and bad for anyone to have a clear image of him.

"Does it really matter, how other people see you?"

Sasuke pondered a while. "You are right. It doesn't. And being pardoned also doesn't change the fact that I still need to atone for what my sins."

"I was hoping you would say that." Kakashi gave him a satisfied smile. It was good to have his student back.

* * *

"Hinata, Hanabi." Hiashi said from behind his desk looking straight into the eyes of his daughters. What he had to say would be difficult to accept, _he'd_ had a hard time accepting it; but he did, as he always did, with every decision of the Council of Elders. "I'm afraid… I do not have good news."

Both girls could see the last months had taken a toll on their father. His hair had lost some of its brightness, his face bore traits of tiredness and old age, mostly due to stress. They stood in front of him, trying their best not to show their nervousness, or at least Hinata was. Hanabi had always been able to bear a perfect poker face and not show weakness. Their postures were perfectly straight, despite Hinata desperately fighting the urge to play with her fingers or avoid her father's eyes as she used to do when she was younger.

"As you both well know, Hinata as the first-born is _meant_ to be heir." Hinata shifted uncomfortably while Hanabi remained immovable. "However, as you remember, Hanabi ended up proving since a very young age to be very capable." He left out _more capable than you_. "Since then she has been training and taught the ways of the head of the household while you, Hinata, simply followed the shinobi path. Be that as it may, the last few events have proved that you are also worthy of the title that was originally meant for you."

Hinata had received praise from the Elders from her courage during Pain's attack and despite their dislike of a Main family member performing healing jutsu, they had to acknowledge her worth after all the gratitude the Hyuuga had receiving from shinobi's treated by her on the battlefield. They also took into account her supposed close relationship with the savior and hero of the War Naruto Uzumaki.

"The dispute between who should be heir amongst you two has been dividing our clan these past few months. The Elders have as such decided it should be settled soon." Hiashi closed his eyes before making his announcement. "You will have to fight each other, and the winner will be the definite heir of the Hyuuga clan."

Hinata shivered. "D-demo" she cursed herself for showing weakness by stuttering "I have no desire to be head. Hanabi is better prepared than I and she will fit the role to perfection."

Hiashi looked at Hinata and then to Hanabi, who had not yet said anything and seemed unfazed by the news.

"Let me finish, Hinata."

"I'm sorry, Otou-san." She quickly bowed in apology.

"The one who loses the right to be head, will be sent away by the means of marriage so the question won't be raised again." He said, and hid his face behind his hands. He could not show weakness despite being with family, but the decision did bother him. After losing his nephew Neji, he felt the heavy weight of a loss in his heart again and as such had no desire to part with one of his daughters.

"Father, a marriage with someone outside the clan, especially a Main family member is extremely unusual. Why this decision?" Hanabi suddenly asked.

Hiashi stared at her and pondered if he should be completely honest. He decided it was better to be transparent. "The Elders first proposal was to have the loser be branded into the Branch family to quiet any revolt. I voted against." For the first time, Hanabi showed a sign of happiness for a fluttering second. She was proud that her father had stood against something the Elder's wanted on behalf of them. "The next best thing, seeing how we are currently opening friendly connections with all hidden villages, would be to secure our standing with an arranged marriage with someone of high standing." He decided it was best not to lie. "The Elders still want Hanabi as their heir, Hinata." He said looking straight into her daughter's eyes and was satisfied to see her hold his gaze. "Their best hope would be that Hinata loses and marries Naruto Uzumaki since you are in the same generation," Hinata almost turned full crimson and resisted the urge to say how impossible that would be "and he is most assuringly the next Hokage. But the most probable thing, since the Elders are not patient, is to marry you off to the highest bidder. In every scenario, the Hyuuga clan settles and issue and obtains a precious advantage."

"When shall our combat be happening?" Hanabi questioned as soon as he finished explaining.

"We have not established a date yet, but soon enough." The Clan Head answered firmly. "This was only informative. You are both dismissed." He said.

Hinata hesitated but followed her sister's lead, bowed and left with her. Outside, Hanabi walked a bit further and stopped in front of her room, waiting for her older sister to catch up. She noticed Hinata was fidgeting, nervous and uncertain.

"Nee-san, we've talked about this. I told you they would make us fight. The leader needs to be strong."

"B-but marriage… so soon."

"You know it is not unusual in clan's to arrange marriages early. But I admit I did not expect them to force us into it now. I didn't know the talks amongst the family became that troublesome." Hanabi wondered with a hand on her chin.

Hinata felt weak. Her younger sister was so composed and trying to cheer her older sister up. It shouldn't be like that. She needed to become a proud Hyuuga, her own self.

"About the fight…" Hinata started to say.

"Forget about our arrangement. I want to fight you fair and square. I know you have progressed a lot nee-san, so let's give it our all." Hanabi's eyes were full of determination and admiration.

The reason she started to train at such a young age was because she requested it after watching her older sister. Ever since she could remember, she had watched her Nee-san train hard time and time again. Despite failing all the time and being called weak for crying easily, Hanabi often ran into Hinata training late at night until her legs gave out. She always thought her sister looked so graceful and beautiful when she practiced her forms under the moonlight. That's why she never felt satisfied with herself. Her form was strong, it exhaled sheer strength and discipline, but all she had wanted was to find that elegance.

"I told you I don't want to be clan leader, Hanabi-chan."

"But you wouldn't like being sent off to marry a stranger, now, would you?" Hanabi said, with a gentle smile on her face.

Hinata looked startled at her. Sighed and smiled gently back. "I know you would say you wouldn't mind that, since you have never been in love. But it would hurt me more to have lose that chance, Hanabi." Hinata moved her sister's rebel lock of hair from her right eye. Hanabi felt warmth from her touch. "We already agreed on who should be heir. I will support you with all my heart." Hinata ruffled her sister's hair and giggled a bit. "This is an opportunity I have to act as your older sister, so let me take it. My job is to ensure your bright future."

She had been raised to take care of her own self but... it felt nice to be protected. She wondered if that's what having a mother felt like. "Nee-chan…" Hanabi finally forgot the honorific, once her father's presence was finally behind.

They _had_ talked about it, and agreed that Hanabi was the better fit to be head. But their plan was that Hinata would be there, by her side, advising her and helping her reform the old clan rules. If she were sent off, married to a stranger, far from her friends… It wasn't fair.

"We need to buy some time."

* * *

"You will report to me weekly and pass through checkpoints on all the villages. Is that understood?" Kakashi asked his former student, now with the authority of the Hokage.

"Yes." Sasuke answered with mild annoyment. It amused Kakashi to see him react like he used to in his younger days.

Sakura stood there, looking a bit sad and nervous. She had let her hair grown the past few months, probably a lingering hope from her childhood that Sasuke preferred women with long hair.

"You are leaving already? Tsunade is about to find complete the prototypes for your arms…"

"I need to go, to see the world for myself, search for all the things I've overlooked before. I have a feeling I'd be able to see everything better now. And if I miss this chance… I don't think another will come." He said sternly and seriously.

"What if I said… I want to come with you?" she asked, looking down, too nervous from daring to ask.

Sasuke looked a bit surprised at her, and finally parted his lips: "You need to stay for your patients and keep Naruto in line." He said. "It's my path to redemption, it has nothing to do with you." He saw Sakura look down, depressed. He sighed and looked her straight in the yes "I'll be back soon." He poked her forehead with two fingers like his brother used to do to him.

Sakura's cheeks turned pink. The Uchiha turned his back and walked away from Konoha's entrance gates.

"You better keep the seat warm for Naruto, Kakashi-senpai." Sasuke said as farewell.

"Don't worry, with all this work I can't find time to read my favorite books." Kakashi said, and was met with a _soft_ punch from Sakura which left him a mild bump on is head: the aforementioned books was a series of Ecchi romance.

"Hatake Kakashi, the earliest Hokage to retire is what you'll be remembered for." Sasuke teased from afar. His voice reached his interlocutor's ears and they laughed.

Both watched him go, and when they couldn't see him anymore, Sakura sniffed holding back some tears. Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, you know he's gonna come back. We have somebody who'll always make sure of it." He said with a smile behind his mask.

"Yes!" She acquiesced wiping a tear away. _"And when he does we'll use our seduction plan, shanaroo!"_ Her innerself yelled.

* * *

A few meters away, Sasuke felt two chakras waiting for him. He smirked.

"Didn't think you would come see me off." He said without turning his head.

On his left, Naruto was leaned back against a tree, grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course I would! I just was a bit late because I had to help Hinata-chan find the way too." He said and pointed his finger to something behind his back. Hurrying through the forest was Hinata Hyuuga with a travel bag on her back.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun was held back waiting for me!" She said a little bit out of breath. It wasn't due to lack of physical form, however her heart was racing crazily because she was scared of what she was about to ask.

.

 _So, why do I have the honor of receiving both of the Hyuuga sisters in my office today?" Kakashi had said sitting on the Hokage desk and wearing the traditional hat. It seemed he put it often to feel the weight of the role._

 _Hinata hesitated on what words to say before speaking, so her sister beat her to it._

" _Kakashi-sama, Hinata needs to be sent on the longest mission you have available right now." She uttered without shame._

" _Hmm." Was the only thing he said at first. "Why is that?"_

" _F-Family related." Hinata managed to utter. "We were hoping you could help us. Father would never object to an assigned mission by the Hokage himself."_

" _Well, I do have something in mind, but you'll have to ask the mission leader yourself. It'll be his decision not mine. And if you want to be sure we won't have any problems, once you are gone, I'll announce myself your mission to Hiashi-sama." He said, but the huge grin seen from even over his mask made Hinata shiver._

" _A-ask whom?"_

 _._

"A-ano, Sasuke-san," She was so nervous she used the honorific. "I was wondering if I could come with you on this mission." She asked, fidgeting nervously her fingers. Certain situations (or people) managed to make her regress to her old habits, even after all the effort she put in to correct them.

Her question caught Sasuke off-guard, despite him having already assumer why she was here upon seeing her bag. He expected Naruto to _announce_ that she was going with him, since having a baby-sitter assigned wouldn't surprise him, but he did not expect for her to ask him.

"Why?" Was all he asked, frowning.

His frown unsettled Hinata. She was afraid he would reject her request. But once it was out there, might as well try her best. "I-I need some time to figure some things out and away from Konoha." She said determined. "S-so please, accept my selfish request!" She spelled out with a full bow so abrupt her hair flipped forward and hid her face. Hinata closed her eyes awaiting nervously his answer.

She had felt nervous about the prospects of such a voyage when Kakashi told her who it was with. They had met several times now and had developed some kind of intimacy; nonetheless it had been built in such awkward and unusual circumstances that the female Hyuuga never knew what to do or say exactly around the Uchiha. Especially when he seemed keen on teasing her. But she had no choice. She needed time to sort out herself, her feelings and… to enjoy some freedom before having to leave caged in a marriage. Maybe her marriage would be to a nice man, but her clan would probably send her off to another village and it might also mean the end of her shinobi career. All because they did not want for anyone to dispute the Head given the current situation of unrest.

Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed pleased by the situation. Naruto missed the amused look in his eyes, too startled by Hinata's sudden movements, he had almost jumped up in surprise. If she had her own reasons, much like himself, he had no reason to refuse her unlike he did to Sakura who wanted to come only to be with him. Being a bit sadistic, he waited a few seconds before giving her a reply.

"Fine, you can come." He said and tapped her shoulder so she would raise her head.

"Really?!" She clasped her hands in relief. "Thank you Sasuke-kun. I promise I won't be a bother."

"And you better keep up too. Or I'll have to make you." He said with a smirk that made her blush.

Naruto, oblivious to the underlying things unsaid, hit both their backs like a brute making Sasuke wince in pain and Hinata utter a small cry 'Eep!'. "Alright! I'll tell Kakashi then! You better take care of her, you teme! And don't just send reports, send me and Sakura-chan some letters too, okay?" He asked of the former Avenger. "And do come back correctly or I'll come to kick your ass into doing things right, dattebayo!"

At first, Naruto had wished he could go with Sasuke, but he had other duties to attend according to the Sixth Hokage and despite his protests and sulking Kakashi had not budged. He was glad to know he would not be travelling alone, and at first chance he got he would go to join in.

"I'll kick your ass for coming just to laze around you idiot." Sasuke said without raising his tone, much like he used to do to provoke the blonde when their team first started.

"Hmpf, we'll see." Naruto answered like a challenge. He put the fist of his remaining left arm and he held something on the palm of his hand. "I'm returning you this. You better hold onto it."

Sasuke pound his fist against Naruto's and smiled back to his friend. They both new they had a new path in front of them. And that it was the right one for both. Then he grabbed what Naruto gave him: it was his old Konoha bandana. He put it in his pocket.

"See ya, dobe." He said giving a single wave goodbye. Hinata stood a few steps away, she had given them space to do their male _thingies_. Sasuke looked at her and glanced back to Naruto tilting his head. "By the way, you are going to regret missing your chance."

Naruto stood there waving slower and slower as they walked away, puzzled. " _What did he mean by that?"_ You could almost see the question mark above the dense boy's head.

* * *

Once they had distanced themselves from Naruto, Sasuke spoke up:

"So, what do you to figure out?" He asked, curious.

"I-I need to sort some things about myself and... other things." Hinata averted her gaze to the left trying to avoid his eyes. She didn't know why she simply didn't tell him the truth instead of being vague. Him of all people in Konoha would understand best what are arranged marriages between clans... Maybe that was it: she didn't want him to tell her she was being stupid trying to run away or to brush it off as it was nothing. Not that it had anything to do with him... Her thoughts confused her.

 _'Damn she's a bad liar'_ Sasuke thought in amusement seeing her stumble from being too deep into her thoughts. He put his hand in his pockets and walked faster in front of her. "Nevermind, guess I have a lot of time to make you tell me the truth." He teased and saw her choke. "By the way, I didn't bring a tent." He didn't really, he usually slept in trees to stay alert. Hinata started to fret behind him and tried to find words to protest or propose a solution. He didn't even need to look back to know she was completely red. Oh well, he wasn't going to be the one to tell her that anyway they would take shifts. No, he would let her take her time to realize it herself.

 **End of Chapter 9**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _ **Tried to do this one as fast as I could since it's like a prologue for Part II.**_

 _ **I love making Sasuke tease Hinata, and I'll try my best to not make any OOC things, but sometime I get carried away and just love to make them interact this way! Hope you'll enjoy :)**_

 _ **Leave a review to tell me what you think and thanks for all of your support!**_


	11. Chapter 10

Sorry I'm so very late with this update! Hope you all were still waiting and will enjoy the start of this part.

A lot happened, and I got my first hater. It was weird, but as one of my reviewers ( **Empresss** ) very well said: it only fuels our love for this non-canon-but-should-have-been-for-oh-so-many-reasons-I-could-even-start-to-list awesome couple.

 **Break Blade** asked me if I made Sasuke smile too much: I try not to, but he does have fun sometimes in his life; plus his smiled are more like half-smiles and pretty much all sassy smirks.

Also Naruto promised Neji when he defeated him in the Chuunin exams that when he became Hokage he would change the way the Hyuuga worked, however we never actually saw anything change or he even try. I agree that it is actually quite the strategic way to think and act as a powerful clan but the way it is done is what makes it contestable. So, as I stated before, from the last chapter (part I) some things will start to differ a lot from the original piece (also because I did not read or follow much after the last chapter of Naruto).

Thanks **Hoboghost** to point out some of my mistakes, I've corrected them.

Thank you all for reading, reviewing and following my story. It's amazing to share one of my passions with so many people and have so much feedback!

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

* * *

They had been walking in silence for several hours since leaving the village. It was strange, but at the same time it did not bother Hinata. She knew Sasuke was the quiet type and had always been surprised when he had been the first to stir up a conversation. Also, in missions it was common to spend hours without speaking since after spending so much time together people didn't have anything else to say.

But that was not true for Sasuke's usual travel partners: Naruto and Sakura are both huge blabbermouths; and Karin and Suigetsu argued every second they each spent in their company. _"I wonder what happened to them… I should use the opportunity to find out."_ Sasuke thought to himself. But to sum up, he welcomed Hinata's quietness. He'd wondered before being assigned teams which kunoichi he would have liked to have on his team. His best-case scenario was none, his worst had been Sakura or Ino, and his second-best… he'd not found it since he'd barely noticed Hinata at the time.

All while walking, she would sometimes strand off, her Byakugan activated, and come back quickly soon after. Sasuke did not bother ask. He imagined she was gathering supplies for food later. Her family's abilities were quite useful in spotting anything they could need. He'd also welcome other foods: his usual menu was beef jerky and what he could find when he got tired of it.

After half a day of walking, Hinata noticed that the sun would soon set and night would fall upon them.

"Sasuke-kun, shouldn't we start looking for a place to set camp?" She asked hesitantly. She did not want to impose but started to worry, not knowing how he works.

Sasuke looked at her and then at the sky. She was right about the timing, it's true he usually didn't bother since he is used to sitting on a high tree and doze off while keeping an eye on his surroundings. Night or day did not bother him. But it would be better to accommodate her. After all, he wasn't in a hurry in his journey.

"I agree. Use your Byakugan to find a suitable place." He almost ordered. She nodded and did as told. He observed how she scanned the surroundings. The protuberant veins where remarkable once her kekkei genkai activated and the change in her eyes almost made her look fierce. He had experienced first-hand the extent of her abilities, but sometimes, when he watched her gentle smile, he looked at her as anything but a ninja.

"Five kilometers south there's a nice spot." Her range had increased greatly for surveillance. "There a lot of places to arm traps all around too." She announced with that great smile he had just thought of.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

They both installed Hinata's tent quickly, and then she went on to prepare dinner while Sasuke prepared traps around their perimeter.

After cutting up the vegetables she picked up on their way, Hinata caught a rabbit and was getting ready to skin him for supper. She did a prayer before killing as painlessly as possible. She used what she learnt from Lamia-san and activated the pressure points that interrupted the feeling of pain.

"All that for a poor rabbit?" Sasuke asked from her shoulder. He had leaned down to watch carefully what she did, and his hot breath on her ear made her disconcerted.

"I don't want it to suffer. It has done nothing wrong." She answered avoiding his gaze. He noticed it. He enjoyed it.

"You don't know what it has done. Maybe it is a serial killer rabbit. Some rabbits eat their children." He whispered in her ear, making her shiver.

"W-well, he has done nothing wrong to me." Hinata got up before losing her cool and put some distance between them.

Sasuke almost chuckled but left her to her own devices. He walked up the tree near the tent and watched her from above. He watched how she bent over to clean and cut the meat, and how she struggled with her hair falling in front of her face. She avoided touching it with her hands, dirtied by the insides of the animal. He wanted to go down and tie it for her, but he decided against it. He shouldn't invade much her personal space, just like he'd wished others had respected his own.

Finally, Hinata was satisfied with her preparation and started cooking it in the fryer she had brought. At first she had been surprised that Sasuke did not have a bag, but apparently everything he needed he could summon from his scrolls or they fit in his pockets. _"Men always think they need to bring as little as possible."_ She shook her head disapprovingly. Then she remembered when Naruto used to bring his huge bag, full of almost everything he owned, and chuckled. Sasuke wondered why she was laughing by herself.

"Sasuke-kun, dinner is served." She called out to him faintly. The forest was silent, there was no need to shout, and he'd been waiting for her call.

* * *

They ate in silence, the same way they would probably do almost everything.

"Hm… I didn't ask before and Kakashi-san didn't give me any details, but what is our current mission?" Hinata spoke between a spoonful.

Sasuke swallowed before answering. "We are going to investigate some happenings near Sunagakure. Bodies have been piling up around a village, and everyone Gaara has sent has come back saying they couldn't find anything or that it's just some beggars dying off. He's worried there has been corruption and therefore asked Naruto with outside assistance."

"I suppose he wants to avoid torture as a resort for now?" Hinata said. Just the word in her mouth made her wince.

"Exactly. He doesn't have specific personnel like Konoha's to extract information; apparently the village of the sand has much… cruder ways, which he hopes to avoid using. Not that Konoha is an example to be followed." His last sentence seemed to hide a brim of anger behind it.

Hinata decided not to pry. She knew he had probably been kept captive while negotiations on his behalf were made. But she had a hunch his problem with Konoha's dark tactics involved rather his brother and his family. The Hyuuga girl felt silly about her problems. His were much deeper and harder to face. What was an arranged marriage in regards of a massacre?

"I'll take first watch if that's okay with you." Hinata asked while gathering both their bowls and gathering everything she would wash tomorrow before they left camp.

"I don't care." He answered coldly. The subject had closed him off. He got up and went inside the tent.

Hinata sighed. It would be a long trip if she did not learn how to face his moods.

* * *

Hinata had cleaned their presence there. She extinguished the fire to avoid attracting unwanted attention, the moon's light being enough for her to relax. It was a warm night, the forest was silent and tranquil. Few small animals passed by her when she managed to completely erase her presence, proving there were no predators around. The prey could play and dance all night. A small squirrel got intrigued by her company and decided to escalate her legs and then her arm and shoulder. She caressed it and laughed when he cuddled near her neck. The smell of her herbs usually made her seem harmless to them.

The hours went by quickly, and before she noticed, it was time to awaken her travel teammate. She hesitated before going into the tent. She felt more uneasy around Sasuke than other people lately. When she got in, she was quickly met with a strong grip on her arm; the only part of her body that had gone through the opening. Sasuke's red orbs were glaring at her, she almost squeaked from the surprise. Upon hearing her small complaint, Sasuke shook his head and raised a hand to his temple.

"Sorry, old habits." He voiced while grabbing a t-shirt laying on the ground. He barely glanced at Hinata while he passed by her. He noticed she had raised both her arms to her chest, either scared or concerned.

Hinata noticed how impressive his bare back was while he slipped on his shirt, but quickly averted her gaze to avoid staring. Her cheeks turned red thinking what would he have said if he had caught her.

"I'll wake you up early. Rest." He muttered.

She nodded before realizing he couldn't see her. "Y-yes!" She said loudly and sighed at her how stupidity.

* * *

Their trip was pretty much the same the day after and the next. They didn't feel the need to speak much for now, and the walk was quite agreeable during their time. Sometimes they would run up the trees when they silently agreed to do it, and stop to drink water, refill bottles and gather utilities. Hinata never thought it'd be this easy to travel with Sasuke Uchiha. Neither did he think it could be so simple and pleasant to travel with a woman.

After five days, they finally arrived to their destination. They stopped at the inn Kakashi had told them to go to. Luckily Konoha's Hokage had made a reservation since a festival was coming up and everything was booked.

"Oh, two guests? The reservation was made for only one. However it is a double bed…" The inn manager pondered.

"Can't you add a futon, please?" Despite Sasuke's voice showing his annoyance, he added the last word when he caught a glance of Hinata's troubled face.

"I'm sorry, they are all in use right now-" The manager started to answer but one glare made him stop. "L-let me at least try to be sure." He said and motioned for a maid to approach him.

"It's okay Sasuke, I can sleep in my sleeping bag. It's no big deal. It's my fault I joined at the last minute." Hinata voiced behind him.

The manager's face lit up and he clapped his hands. "Perfect! Problem solved!" Sasuke's annoyed face went to irritated. "But as soon as a futon is free I'll have it put in your room, of course."

As he gave them their room key, he threw a glance to Hinata that made her almost quiver. They had fought each other before, but the looks he gave her now that they were working together scared her more than any other when they were supposed enemies.

"You shouldn't have said that, you gave him an out." Sasuke said annoyed while opening their door. "Plus shouldn't you mind sharing a room with a boy?"

Hinata smiled, it was nice of him to worry about that. "Sasuke-kun, I have shared many times rooms with Kiba and Shino. That's not an issue."

"Then why did sharing a tent bother you?"

Hinata cheeks reddened. "B-because if we share a tent where am I supposed to get changed? In hotels there are bathrooms."

"And in tents you can see silhouettes anyway." He added nonchalantly, which only made her look more like a tomato.

They entered the room. It was small but not cramped. There was a regular bed, the floor was wooden and on the left a door leading to a small bathroom with toilet, shower and sink.

Sasuke put his things on the floor and pushed the bed to the side to make room for the sleeping bag.

"You sleep on the bed. I'll take your sleeping bag." He ordered.

"No, I'm the one who tagged along, it's only normal I sleep on the floor." Hinata protested.

"It's your fault we don't have at least a futon, yes, so now you are going to be a good girl and sleep on the bed. Is that understood?" He ordered again. She felt the need to argue but his stubborn look only made her realize it would probably be futile.

"It's not fair to you, Sasuke."

"The fact that it's bothering you this much is already quite the punishment. So it does sound fair to me." He countered and that settled the argument.

Hinata then went silently to take a shower while Sasuke wrote two letters. One to the Hokage to tell him they made a safe trip and arrived at their destination, the other to Gaara so he would send them the details of the mission. He then invoked his hawk to reach the Kazekage as fast as possible, and a dove for Konoha. After, he lay down on Hinata's sleeping bag and realized it was quite soft. He rarely took the time to really rest, his nightmares sometimes still haunted him, or while travelling he was always on the alert. But her smell was everywhere on the fabric. It invaded his nostrils and suddenly his eyelids felt so heavy and all he could was roll to his side before falling asleep.

Hinata got out of the shower in casual clothes. She quickly noticed the ex-Avenger resting and decided not to bother him. She wanted to put a pillow under his head but knowing his trained reflexes it might not be such a good idea. Silently, she slipped out of the room to sightsee the town.

There were a lot of lights and people outside. The warm weather made people dress in festive yukata's and children run everywhere. It was a firework festival and many booths were installed, food, activities, trinkets and clothes. Hinata loved this kind of lively events and wondered what their mission there would be. She really hoped it did not involve the festival, it would be too sad to have it destroyed or interrupted.

After tasting a bit of everything and enjoying her walk, she also mapped out the city layout and strategic spots for surveillance. With so many people she couldn't single out any specific suspicious activity, mostly because she had no idea what she should be looking for. Once she felt satisfied and started to feel tired, she headed back to the hotel. They would probably start the mission next morning or at most the morning after, better to enjoy what little rest they had.

"Where did you go?" She heard as soon as she opened the door of their room.

"To take a - w-walk!" She gasped when she saw him walking around in boxer's and drying his hair with his towel. She quickly turned around flushed.

He smirked, amused. He enjoyed the fact he felt free to be this casual with her, different of how cautious he'd been with his other female teammates. After a few seconds, he told her she could turn around. "I'm going out now to get something to eat. I suppose it'll be easier for you to fall asleep if I'm not around." He completed, although he remembered quite clearly how easily she slept in his company when they were trapped in the cave.

"I don't mind if you stay." She said out loud, which surprised both her and Sasuke. "I-I mean, I'll sleep well if you are here or not, b-but the festival outside is quite nice." The Uchiha also liked how sometimes his presence made her stutter.

"I can stay very close, if you want." He whispered closing the distance between them. His breath was just on Hinata's ear, making her shiver despite the heat.

"On second thought, y-you need to eat something! I recommend the cinnamon rolls stand." She blurted out, grabbed one of his t-shirts and pushed him out of the room, almost banging the door behind him. However, it was Hinata Hyuuga, so she gently finished the movement as to not bother the other clients.

" _Maybe I shouldn't tease her so much."_ He though with a smirk stamped on his face. He just couldn't help it. She was the kind of girl who was just too easy to bother.

The now expelled Uchiha put the shirt on nonchalantly and yawning. He'd been wearing a bandana to slightly hide himself from being identified, but he still picked up a lot of attention everywhere he went. His good lucks made it hard to infiltrate crowds when it wasn't cold. Luckily, with the festival going on, he should be able to find a mask easily.

The lights were too bright and there were too many people. Too much decoration, too much children running around… Too many happy families having fun and being innocent. Before, it used to make him mad and envious. Now, it only made him feel melancholy.

"Wow, what a handsome man and he's all alone too…"

"Oh my god, he's such a hunk!"

He heard a couple of girls whisper when he passed them by. He stopped himself from glaring, it reminded him of his fangirls following him around all throughout the city in his young days. His good hearing picked up a lot of people's comments and his sometimes-ill-tempered character had a hard time ignoring them all, but his cold head always took the lead to stop him from doing something stupid.

He was using a contact lens to hide his Rinnegan. It bothered him and disturbed his left eye vision, he was thinking about letting his hair grow to hide it out. He didn't want to hide it like Kakashi. His stupid sensei would tease him if he did anything similar to copying the Copy Ninja. He was glad to spot a nice tent selling traditional masks.

"I'll take the one on the left." He asked the vendor and took out his wallet with his right hand.

"Here you go." The old man extended it to him. Sasuke flinched when he tried to move his left arm and was met with a ghost pain. "Oh, sorry." The vendor said noticing the empty sleeve. "Would you like me to put it on for you?"

Sasuke's stare was icy. "No, thank you." The vendor felt a shiver ran down through all his spine. He'd never felt so terrified just from a man's look. He didn't dare say a thing and he dropped the mask in his fright. Sasuke gave the shaking man his money and struggled a bit to put the mask on but managed to do it. It took down a notch the strain on his nerves.

His arm… had been on his mind for a while now. He would need to get used to not having one, since he did not plan on accepting Tsunade's prop. It was also a way for him to atone, and to change his fighting style might be a good thing for someone who wanted to change altogether. It was another struggle in his path, one he had accepted but still had to face. How to do it? It did annoy him, it still hurt, and it was … hard to accept. Losing a part of yourself, a limb, was like losing a part of his soul. And every ache and throb were a reminder of everything he had to make up for.

But tonight, this night specially he couldn't deal with it. There was too much brightness all around him, too much colors. And since he slept before he couldn't do it now to make the time go by.

"Hey, sir, masked sir, yes you!" A servant from a bar called out to him. "Would you like to come in? We have vey good sake! The first drink is on me if you take off your mask." She flirted to attract his attention. It almost made him smile from amusement.

"I'll take that drink." He said and flashed her his face for a small second while grabbing her flyer. The girl stood there, surprised. She didn't expect such a handsome man.

"Sure! I'll bring it over in a second." She answered, her voice more hyped than before.

* * *

" _I drank a bit too much."_ Sasuke thought as he staggered on his hotel's corridor. " _Which room was it again?"_ He searched as he leaned on the walls. Despite his rough looks and huge build, he had never been much of a drinker, and was actually quite weak to alcohol. " _Well, for now as I haven't trained for it yet."_ He made up the excuse for himself.

He had indeed exaggerated. The servant girl offered the first drink, and kept him served as the night went on. His glass barely stayed empty more than a minute and in his bad humor and solitude, he just kept chugging it down. He was glad that he wasn't a loud drunk or a bad decision drunk, as he turned down every other person that came wanting to see the face behind the mask or other people too drunk to care about what he looked like.

He finally found his room. He opened the door and didn't bother to turn on the lights. He just undressed, struggling with his only hand, kept his boxers and slid into the sheets. He rolled a bit to find something beside him, but it didn't bother him much. All he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep a little, to make the world stop turning so damn much. But the smell, that smell was so good. It made him feel better already…

Hinata lay there not daring to move. Sasuke woke her up with his battle against the lock and as she tried to ignore him he got in the bed with her! He reeked of saké and mumbled a few words but it was clear he was drunk.

Hinata turned around to face him and try to put some sense into him, put one look to his face, and she knew he was sleeping like a baby.

" _Well, it's Sasuke Uchiha. If he got drunk, he probably had a good reason to."_ She sighed. And saw his face start to contort in angst. " _Poor thing, he must be troubled by so many thoughts…"_ The Hyuuga girl bit her lip. She didn't know if she had any right to, but all she wanted was for him to have a good night sleep. She struggled against her flushed face, repeating to herself that it wasn't even the first time they shared a bed or were this close to each other, and nothing happened.

"All right Sasuke, you're safe here." She whispered in his ear. She moved closer to his body and cuddled his face with her hand. As she stroked him gently, she felt him draw near as well and place a hand on her hip. Her body grew hot and her heart rate rose, but she convinced herself that all was innocent.

"Thank you" She heard Sasuke murmur in his slumber. And she smiled.

" _Physical injuries are not the only thing to take care of."_ Lamia-san had told her once. _"Just remember Hinata, there are many ways to heal a person. "_

"I hope this one can heal too." She said to herself, as in a small prayer. Her forehead touched his as she started to fall asleep too. "Good night, Sasuke."

 **End of Chapter 10**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _ **There you go, hope you enjoyed it. I want them to get together so quickly! But I can't make it too fast or it would be unnatural, but I can't wait for them to be in love and work on themselves.**_

 _ **I really think both deserve it. I really hate how in Boruto, Hinata is so dissolved, so uninteresting... Like she did not evolve or has any important role at all. I don't mind her being with Naruto (okay, I do, I have a hard time accepting it) but how could they make the MAIN CHARACTER'S GIRLFRIEND/WIFE not have a single role of importance except being their children's mom? It's like... that's all she's for. And she is NOT.**_

 _ **Sorry for venting out a little. I love Hinata. I was so sad to not see her growth.**_

 _ **See you next week! (Or the one after that)**_


	12. Chapter 11

Thank you for all that reviewed, favorited and followed! Sorry for being so late in the update, I won't make promises anymore, except the one that I'll finish this story :P

Yeah, I love GaaHina moments too, but don't know if I'll put some, I actually really liked in the manga how Gaara saw himself in Sasuke and I do think he might have a part in his road to redemption.

Hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

Sasuke woke up with a small headache. But a familiar smell invaded his nostrils before he opened his eyes, and the soft feeling he felt under his right hand and the warmth around his whole body slowly made him understand the boundary he had overstepped last night.

"Guess I am _some_ kind of drunk after all…" He grumbled to himself. Hinata lay asleep near him, her face so close to his he could hear her breathing. He didn't dislike the situation, and from the looks of it, she didn't either. It wasn't bad after all to have someone to wake up to.

Despite not really wanting to, he slid off the bed and got up. But as soon as he moved, Hinata slowly woke up. Her eyes were sleepy and as she raised to sit down on the bed, Sasuke noticed she was wearing a silk violet nightgown with straps that put her… assets in good value. Of course she wouldn't sleep all the time in her ninja attire (although he would not have been surprised if she did), and kunoichi's never knew when they would have the comfort of a nice bed, so they usually took every chance to enjoy it. Her bosom rose as she yawned and Sasuke realized he had been staring. Lucky for him, she was a slow riser.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked her, trying to hide his smirk while he put on his clothes.

"I-I did, and you?" She answered back slowly opening her eyes. He was already fully clothed. "Not very hangover?" Her question wasn't a taunt or a reproach but just simple concern.

"No. But I did drink a bit too much last night. What's your excuse?" He leaned down to gather the clothes he had thrown down last night.

"Excuse for what?" She didn't understand. Her confusion only amused him.

"I was drunk that's why I got into the bed with you. What's your excuse to not have moved me?" He teased her, and it worked. She immediately stuttered.

"I-I-I!" She tried to protest, to tell him it was for him she had let him stay.

"Nevermind." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "I'm ready and heading out. Keep yourself busy until I receive an answer from our employers or Kakashi." And he went out.

Hinata hugged the sheets to her chest and exhaled loudly. So early in the morning and she already felt exhausted.

* * *

Sasuke found an isolated ground a bit far from the city. He scanned the surroundings to make sure no one would observe or interrupt him. He didn't want anyone to see his struggle.

It was time to face the truth and train. With one less arm he had lost considerable amount of power and certainly flexibility. His sharingan still had many uses but copying a jutsu without being able to do the hand signs would be very difficult if not impossible. He was lucky to have lost his left arm, so he didn't have to get used to a new dominant arm.

First, the basics. His shuriken and kunai throwing had only been a bit disturbed due to the shift in weight but with just some throws he found his balance. That was a good start. Next, some taijutsu. The problem is that his mass center was all messed up, and he kept having the reflex of trying to move his left arm which only brought some pangs of ghost pains. Sasuke cursed and tried again. He kicked the tree with all his strength, and it was powerful, but he didn't have the equilibrium to chain another attack next. It was frustrating, but he would get there.

"Let me help you." A soft voice said from behind him. He'd been growing accustomed to her presence and was so concentrated that he didn't even notice when she'd approached. He turned around and Hinata was there, wearing her usual baggy lilac clothes and looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Did you follow me here?" He asked, not very happy.

"N-no!" She denied, taken aback. Hinata did feel a bit guilty by invading his training but she felt it would be better for him to train against someone than just a tree. He needed to find feeling and stimulation, just repetitive segments would not do him much good. "I was 'looking' around the city to see what I could do and I saw… you."

"I don't want your help. Leave me alone." He said curt and short and turned his back to her. At the same time, he wanted to punch himself for being rude.

"It would be easier for you! It's more stimulating and it'll train your reflexes. And I can paralyze your left shoulder so you won't feel pain." She replied.

"No. Leave." He didn't want to be seem like that, to be seen in such a vulnerable state.

"N-No. We're a team for now. We're not supposed to do things each their own." Despite her slip stutter, Hinata was determined to stay.

"Do you really feel it's okay to crash another person's training like that?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, trying to appeal to her guilt.

"Hmm… Didn't you do the same when we were younger?" She almost answered with a smile. In spite of his annoyance, he almost spit out a laugh at how right she was.

"Fine. Let's do this. Start with my shoulder." He said and took of his shirt.

"Y-you don't need to take it off." Hinata said, blushing a bit. He noticed she was trying very hard to avoid looking at his torso.

"I know." He could punish her in other ways.

She slowly approached him and activated her Byakugan and concentrated chakra to her fingers. "Ready?" Sasuke nodded. "Okay. Don't worry, the paralysis will wear off after a few hours."

"Just do it, Hinata."

The way he said her name, and how close they were, made the Hyuuga shiver and remember when he kissed her in the forest before the war. It was a weird feeling. She didn't know what it was yet she couldn't help but want more. " _What am I thinking… focus!"._ Sasuke was a complex person, but even after all his efforts to put a distance between him and anyone else, she felt she knew him actually quite well. And she wanted to know more. However, he was so cold! And all he liked to do was tease her. Everything about him confused her.

"There." She said and took a step back.

Sasuke winced a bit, it was an even weirder sensation, but after her finger pricked, there was no pain. His left side slouched a bit, but without much weight, it didn't change much.

"Ok, come at me." He told her.

Hinata hesitated at first, but she knew that it would only insult him so she quickly picked herself up and lunged forward. Sasuke parried her strokes at first but it easily threw him off balance, he could barely throw some of his own without giving her too many openings. The exchange of blows was becoming rough for him, so he put some distance by kicking himself away and landing with his right palm on the ground. As soon as he felt in control, he moved left to tour around her and see how much speed he could manage. Hinata threw shurikens around to see if he could dodge as well, and he did with ease.

He threw a kunai and as she dodged it he jumped up in the air to attack her from above. Hinata's focus was on him, but Sasuke had attached a thread to the kunai he threw earlier and with a swift finger movement made it come back towards Hinata. The girl noticed it but too late and she wasn't going to dodge in time the blade aimed at her stomach. As he noticed it, he stopped it and brought it back to him while landing in front of her.

"Always be aware of your surroundings." He scolded her.

Hinata was ashamed. She had not been concentrating enough. She had taken it lightly, too focused on Sasuke's movements and recovery to think about the fight. She should know he didn't need her to evaluate himself, he needed her to be a good opponent, or at least a decent combat partner.

"Are you ready to take this seriously?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Y-Yes!" He brisked her away from her thoughts. Hinata pinched her cheek.

.

.

.

They trained for a long time. They took small pauses, but Sasuke's stamina was almost as amazing as before, his time in the Konoha center not having affected much. Hinata was having a hard time keeping up, but it was less fatiguing since Sasuke's style wasn't very aggressive, _yet_.

Both always stopped short of giving a huge blow. Hinata had been right, it became much easier for him to react to attacks than he had originally thought. His paralyzed shoulder didn't burden him a lot and at some point he became unaware of it. It was a band-aid for now, but important for a good start.

"We – should take a real break now." Hinata panted after they stopped their last exchange. "I brought food."

Sasuke was washing his sweat away with a towel. Now that it was almost noon, the sun was hitting hard and the temperature had gone quite up. He wondered how the Hyuuga girl was not sweating buckets with her coat and her long pants. Under the light, he noticed glints shining on her skin. She probably wanted to stop because the heat was getting through to her. It must be.

"Okay." He sat down and took a huge sip in his bottle of water, his torso exposed and the towel around his neck.

Hinata rehydrated herself as well, and from her bag took out two wrapped boxed lunches. It contained 4 medium sandwiches and some fruits. Sasuke took his fill, and they both ate in silence. It was rewarding to have a good rest after a nice séance.

After a while, Sasuke spoke up only to say "Thank you" Without ever raising his eyes from the ground.

Hinata looked at his awkward expression. He was this embodiment of a manly handsome and confident ninja, but at times like this he was just an awkward kid who didn't know how to express himself. She tried to hold her chuckle, but he heard it as she said "You're welcome, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

"They are advising us to start by staking out the north-east entrance. Apparently, some bodies were found there, and the other investigators didn't use that information so they might not be very careful about that spot."

Sasuke's hawk had come back with an answer. There was not a lot of information, but now they could finally start their real work.

"Let's go then." She acquiesced.

.

Staking out was never much fun. You had to stay as put as possible, concealing your presence while waiting for something that might not even happen. Hinata and Sasuke were both crouched towards some bushes several meters away from the spot they wanted to surveil. Sasuke only needed his ears to perceive movement and then alert Hinata to use her eyes to see what was going on. They were close to one another and that proximity, his heat, made Hinata uncomfortable. It was her best self-control to not move or twitch. Sasuke on the hand was calm and unmoved.

Suddenly he tapped her hand twice, it was the signal they had agreed on.

"There are two men disposing of a body. Do we stop them or do I see where they go next?" She whispered.

"We wait."

The Konoha ninjas patiently waited out when the two were finished and then followed from afar the two men. They had come from the deep within the forest. Once the entrance of their hideout was identified, Sasuke and Hinata captured them.

"How many inside?" Sasuke asked using his sharingan to make him talk.

"Around a dozen." The man answered, under the genjutsu. He was so weak it had been easy to get him talk.

"What are you doing down there?"

"Lab experiments." His answer made Hinata wince.

"On humans?" Sasuke wanted to certify.

"Yes."

Sasuke's face showed disgust. He unsheated his sword and was about to plant it when Hinata's hand stopped his right arm.

"What are you doing Sasuke?" She asked.

"The mission." He answered without blinking and not even looking at her. Despite not needing it anymore, his eyes were red as blood.

"This is not the mission. It would be an execution. They've already been neutralized, they pose no threat." She said trying to make him sheath the sword.

Sasuke weighed her words. She was right. Even when he was in Orochimaru's lair he avoided killing when he didn't need to. The sound ninjas were all ruthless killers yet not even then he had wanted to commit murder. He had changed too much. Could he still come back? His hand hesitated. _I am here to at least try._ He looked into Hinata's pale eyes. They reflected the moon. Her look was determined to stop him.

His grip wavered and he hesitated. "I'm sorry, you are right." Hinata blinked twice when he apologized. It was the first time he actually said it out loud to her face. Sasuke Uchiha rarely ever apologized _and_ admitted he was wrong.

He turned to the two hostages and threw then a bloodlustful look. They both instantly fell in a powerful genjutsu. "This way we're sure they won't be trouble anymore. Leave them here. Let's go." He was in the mood for a carnage.

Hinata followed him in. It was an underground passage to a subterranean hideout. The man they had interrogated had opened it with a sand jutsu. Hinata was about to ask how they should proceed with so many enemies but Sasuke just went ahead, and as silent as a snake, he sneaked up onto every enemy they crossed. Hinata didn't have to do anything. Only his skilled taijutsu was enough. He had learnt a lot from Lee. Once he had knocked them down, he did the same as the first two to neutralize them. He stopped in front of a door.

Hinata put her hand on his arm to attract his attention. She used her Byakugan and raised four fingers. Four enemies. Sasuke looked back. He had indeed run across 8 others on the way there. Hinata pointed to their locations. They decided he'd take care of both on the right and she, the left. On three they lunged.

The ones Sasuke had were quite skilled, but Sasuke easily dodged every attack thanks to the faculties of his eyes, and Hinata seemed to be holding her ground against the other two. These ones were better than the ones they ran into before. Sasuke finally finished both of them and turned around to see Hinaat face the last one. But suddenly, she turned to him and threw him a shuriken. He avoided it but was confused.

"What the-?" Sasuke was about to ask, but one look in her eyes and he knew it was a jutsu. In a split second she had been brainwashed. He was good, the Uchiha smirked. But he was better.

"I-?" Hinata shook her head confused. She turned around to face her enemy. "What did you do?" She asked.

"He has a bloodline. Powerful brainwashing. But seems to work only for the most recent memory." Sasuke explained as he approached. The enemy had tried to move to the door but once he saw Sasuke's pupils he had frozen in place. "That's how the others didn't report anything. He must've given them different memories and explanations. Unlucky him it doesn't work on me." Sasuke said as he captured the man.

"I see… It makes sense." Hinata said.

They questioned their prisoners and investigated the place. They found 3 people captive who told them the most important bits of the story. They were ninjas injured during the war. The man in question had presented to them as a medic-nin but them captured them and brought them there. In the confusion of the Zetsu's, they had most probably been declared dead and that's why no one searched for them. The man, called Thorus, was trying to conduct research using the white zetsu's DNA but all of his trials failed in death for the guinea pigs. Once he started to run out of subjects, he and his underlings moved to kidnapping the people from the village.

Hinata wrote a detailed report with their findings, brought first aid to the captives and they called the village authorities to deal with the criminals.

As Sasuke sent his hawk to the Kazekage, Hinata said:

"This was a simple mission in the end." She stated.

Sasuke simply nodded.

"I wasn't much help after all." She ended up saying out loud. He had almost done everything himself. She had been useless.

Sasuke stopped moving.

"No, you helped me. You stopped me from killing." He said serious. Hinata looked at his back.

"Your arm had stopped before I did. You hesitated yourself Sasuke-kun, I just stated why." She said and touched his arm gently. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You are not the awful man you think you are." She said.

"Even if I do this?" He asked as he turned to face her and kissed her fervently.

Hinata hesitated before accepting it. She placed a hand to his cheek and the other on his back, as if he couldn't be close enough. It was like she had been waiting for him to do it this whole time. And she let herself go on his arms. This feeling was insane. Her heartbeat was skyrocketing, her body was all hot, and him... It was him. His lips were moist and the sensation of them against hers was the drug she didn't know she craved.

Sasuke had been trying to hold back this whole time, but he couldn't anymore. Everytime he smelt her scent, everytime she touched him… It drove him crazy. He couldn't focus. His calm exterior only contrasted with the turmoil she made him feel. He caressed her hair as he tried to be more gentle and more controlled.

As their mouths separated they were both panting.

"I don't know why you came on this trip with me, Hinata" she shivered as he said her name so close to her ear, "but I can't stop myself from doing this kind of thing." As she swallowed from listening to him, he removed his hand from her hip and moved away. "If you don't want to, better tell me now." He said as he moved past her.

Hinata grabbed his hand before he left the room. "I-I don't think I dislike it." She said staring at the floor in front of her before she let go. Sasuke almost smiled and caressed her hand before leaving to use the hotel baths. He needed a good cold shower before anything.

 **End of chapter 11**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _ **I don't have anything to add. Read and Review if you like!  
**_


	13. Chapter 12

Sorry (again) for the extremely late update. I had a lot of going on (which is not much of an excuse). Hope some of you are still following and will enjoy this one.

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

Hinata was extremely embarrassed. Extremely being an euphemism. She was… excited. Happy. Her entire body had melted in the Uchiha's arms, not even a single ounce of her even thought of resisting his touch. What did she do? What did it mean? How was she supposed to act around him now? Her mind swarmed with questions and confusion.

She really wanted and not wanted Sasuke to come back from his shower. She was completely flustered, and her head was a mess. Hinata had been coming to terms with her feelings for Naruto. Could she be developing feelings for the Uchiha now? She didn't know how to describe how she felt about Sasuke. She cared about him, she knew that deep inside his cold armor he had a warm and good heart…

"Did you not move this whole time?" Sasuke interrupted her thoughts, making her jerk in place and utter confused monosyllables. He smirked. He would enjoy teasing her now that she was very aware of him.

"I-I-I" She tried to find something to answer to him. She felt her cheeks flush and her mouth quiver. Her stutter made her even more nervous and aggravated itself. "I-I! I didn't." Is all she managed to say. State the obvious.

Again, she almost made him laugh. He threw his wet towel to her. "You should go clean yourself too. We'll probably move tomorrow." He said while he laid down on his futon and closed his eyes.

Hinata took her leave and went to the onsen. To soak in nice and hot water would help her figure things out. Or at least she hoped. As the manager had said, the hotel was fully booked and there were many guests. Thankfully, the baths were gender-separated, but there were still too many people for Hinata's taste. She washed herself on the furthest corner from everyone, lay down on an isolated spot of the natural rocks, and tried to relax.

"Of course, that's what he expects! He kissed you today and now he invited you to his room, he wants S-E-X!" She heard one young girl exclaim to another. Hinata squeaked, surprised by the loud voices coming inside right beside her. They seemed to be around her age.

"You think so? But we just kissed!" The other answered, looking embarrassed but excited at the idea at the same time.

"You let him kiss you. That sends a message." Hinata sunk in, the water up to her chin. "Some like to go fast. Anyway, we're all here just for the festival, what good is it to wait? Just go and do it if he pleases you." Her friend cheered her on.

"I don't know, I'll see how things go." The other girl didn't seem to mind the idea.

"Is it your first time?" Her friend asked.

"God no! Who would be virgins at our age?" And both laughed. Hinata sunk in deeper, the water just under her nose. She wanted to protest: it was totally normal to be a virgin at her age! Who had time between studying and training and missions! Although she knew it was common to have relations in dangerous missions... In case the risk of death was too high. She shook her head. It was normal. They must be older than she thought. Or looser. Hinata shook her head. She felt bad about thinking something mean of people she didn't know.

"Yeah, I guess if we are alone in his room there is no other possible outcome." And both giggled.

However, Hinata started to freak out. They had kissed. They shared a room. They had even shared a bed. Would he try more tonight? Her head spiraled. It was too hot. She had to get out of there.

She stumbled out of the water and through her dizziness managed to dress herself and go back to the room. In front of the door, she hesitated. What if he did plan to try more tonight? She couldn't be ready to do _it._ She didn't even know what she felt for him. But if he expected something because she'd led him on, he'd probably be upset. He was Sasuke Uchiha though, Konoha's hunk. If he didn't have her for whatever he needed, he could easily get someone else. Somehow, that idea didn't take off the unease. The thoughts and questions jumbled in her mind and her body couldn't take it anymore.

"I need to lie down." She murmured as she slid down the wall to floor. When her buttocks hit the floor, the door opened.

"What the-?" Sasuke said as he saw her sitting on the floor, her whole body red and flushed. "You moron." He gently insulted while shaking his head.

"I-I stayed too long." She tried to apologize. He knew it wasn't true. She hadn't been gone long enough for it to be the case. He knew her. She had been overthinking.

"Shut up. I'll put you in bed and just sleep." He ordered. "And nothing more." He whispered to soothe her fears, but the way his voice sounded in her ear did the opposite effect. Her skin quivered under his touch, her legs tingled where he was touching to lift her in his arms and take her to bed. She squirmed a bit, and feeling her move made it hard for Sasuke to contain himself. _'I'm trying to be nice here, stop tenting me.'_

He abruptly dropped her unto the mattress.

"Ouch." She murmured.

"Oh, was I too brutal?" He asked maliciously. "Do you want me to… do it slower?" He approached and was almost on top of her. His body dangerously close to her body, her temperature started to rise again, and while playing this dangerous game, his too. "Softer?" He teased her more, his lips once more only inches away from hers. "Gentler?" As he said those two syllables his lips moved against hers, and Hinata thought she would lose her mind. But he moved back and passed his hand through his hair. He exhaled and looked at the heavy-breathing woman so close to his grasp. She was beautiful.

"I'm going to eat. You should rest." He said as he went out of the room. As he closed the door, he took a deep breath. His pants were in a tight situation, he couldn't go outside like _that._

* * *

Hinata woke up to an empty futon beside her. She was a bit disappointed to not have him with her, but also relieved. What was going on? She had no idea.

On his pillow, she noticed a note: _I'll be training. You can join me if you so wish to. – Sasuke._

Alright. Normal shinobi stuff. No tension when doing training. Only two bodies moving… okay. If she was going to be fighting him, she would need to concentrate. She put her usual training clothes, the ones that covered every inch of her body despite the heat outside.

Sasuke had gone to the same place as the day before. His advancement was impressive. He was already miles better than the day before. Their mission had helped him find again his balance and his taijutsu was almost on par with excellent ninjas, but with his missing arm he still had ways to go to recover his own level.

When Hinata got there, he was trying to use jutsus while doing half the seals. A small electric shock escaped from his fingers and he grunted in frustration. "Let me help." The Hyuuga said and he nodded as she approached her. "Do the seals with me, I need to learn the chakra sensation and then try to reproduce it with one hand."

They tried, and with her chakra he could do simple jutsus, but the elemental ones where she had no affinity where considerably weaker than what he could do even at his genin days. It annoyed him. So she suggested they move on to other things before his mood got ruined.

They ended with a good sparring session which was interrupted by the arrival of his hawk.

Sasuke extended his arm and it landed. He took out the note and read it. "We are going to Suna. Effective immediately, Gaara's is summoning us."

* * *

The road to Suna was three-days walk on their current speed. They only stopped to sleep for eight hours, four hours each, and a thirty-minute pause for every meal. They had grabbed the necessary at the village so they wouldn't have to hunt and move as fast as possible. It was a relief to Hinata, because while they moved, they didn't talk and couldn't do anything else either.

Once they got there, everyone was very wary of the Uchiha's presence. In the capital of Suna, everyone had followed closely the events surrounding the Akatsuki and the war. So they all had mixed feelings about the person who had made part of the organization that almost killed their leader but that also helped save the world. Sasuke Uchiha would always be an entity to be reckoned, respected and feared. Carrying their bandanas, the Rinnegan that he couldn't hide, and the sole weight of his presence, those who heard of him had no doubts about his identity.

That atmosphere got more intense upon his arrival on the main building. Every ninja was ready to attack and defend, Sasuke and Hinata could feel murderous intent and fear around them. The Uchiha didn't mind it, but he knew that the Hyuuga felt uncomfortable. "Don't worry, it's only directed at me." He tried to appease her. And was surprised to see that his words only pained her more.

"They don't know you. They don't define you." She answered. And he felt a weight off his chest lift, a weight that he didn't even know was there.

"Stop it." They heard a powerful yet low voice order. "He's here under my orders. He has the Hokage's trust and so he has mine. Welcome, Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke." Gaara's deep gaze lay onto the two ninja's of the Hidden Leaf.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Hinata said and bowed. She felt Sasuke hesitate beside her, his pride against bowing down to anyone. Upon feeling her stare, Sasuke begrudgedly bowed down too.

"Come inside." And both followed him into his office.

The Kazekage's office looked like a sand pot from the outside. Inside, it was big and spacious, furnished with typical goods from their country. Gaara didn't go to sit behind his desk, instead he offered them the hospitality of his couch and a cool drink. Sasuke and Hinata sat opposite of him, and the furthest away from each other possible, which didn't go unnoticed by the eyes of Temari. The Kazekage's siblings had joined them, as they also were his close advisors.

"Hello there." Said Temari with a mischievous smile on her face while looking at the pair. The blond girl had a vague remembrance of the Hyuuga heir. Their fight in the Chuunin exams had been quite memorable, it's rare to see bloodline's fighting each other. And who could forget Uchiha Sasuke?

Kankurou received them with a grin. He was curious about the Uchiha's character. "Thank you for capturing the criminal. He'll pay for his crimes." He knew that as a representative of the security of Sunagakure he should say something about it.

"What about his research?" Asked Sasuke, his face was emotionless but internally he was boiling. When he spoke, the room went tense with the murderous intent he left off.

"We're still debating on whether to destroy it or put it to good use. It'll go to the council next week." Temari answered in her brother's stead, holding back the shiver that went through her spine. She liked the idea of exchanging words with such a hunk, but his power frightened her, the same way her younger brother did in the past.

"Hmpf. You'd be better destroying it all." The tension relieved as he laid back on the couch and closed his eyes. He wasn't interested anymore. Since Hinata was here, she could take over for the rest.

"You did a good job. Thank you for the service. The main payment has been sent to Konoha, here is the share they wanted you to receive for the following journey." Gaara stated as he pushed through the table an envelope towards the ninja.

Behind his emotionless eyes, Gaara was extremely relieved to see Sasuke Uchiha cooperative (as much as he could be for now). In the past, he had seen his dark old self in the soulless black orbs of the man standing before him, and upon his arrival, he saw a shred of light. One he had not managed to find during their fight at the Kage Summit. And he had an idea of what was bringing it to the surface. The way she managed to make him shed some of his pride, Hinata wasn't just a travel companion. Did the Hokage planned it? Or was it a coincidence?

"Thank you Kazekage-sama." Hinata shyly said when Sasuke didn't move. He had opened his eyes and stared at the man in front of him.

'He became Kazekage. That murderous killing machine from our Chuunin exam." The times they had crossed paths were always on opposite sides and they had not exchanged many words, or at least Sasuke had not paid any mind to them. But the Uchiha knew how powerful the man is. And how he had changed. Thanks to Naruto. His atonement might not be such an impossible idea after all. 'Tsk.' He wanted to stop thinking about it.

"We've arranged for rooms while you await your next mission. Please feel free to roam around the city as much as you want. Control yourself in the palace… I wouldn't want any of my men to get hurt." He added with a glint of a smile. "I apologize, I do not have much time at the moment. I hope we'll be able to discuss later." Gaara stated and got up to sit at his official desk. As he put his kage hat, he waved to Temari: "Please show them their rooms."

They all took their leave, showing respect for the leader, except for Sasuke, who simply walked out the doors. Gaara let it slide. He knew the Uchiha would show his respect when it would be needed.

Hinata's room was on the east wing of the palace and Sasuke's was on the west one. Temari showed them where they could wash and eat. Hinata finally felt some exhaustion come over her. She'd been very tense near the Uchiha and, despite always being in formal situations ever since she was a child, it'd still take a toll on her everytime she had to follow customs. The Hyuuga girl sighed. This was probably the last of her freedom. She needed to enjoy herself.

After a long nap she went to explore the palace. Suna's official building was very different from Konoha's. Konoha's was very department-like, with offices and desks. Suna's was a palace, with rooms, chambers, dining rooms, kitchens and lounges. Their local culture was full of beautiful tapestry and ceramics. She went through every room absorbing what she could of their story and beauty. Hinata went up some stairs and got out on top of the building, where she could have a nice view of the city.

"I like this place a lot too." Gaara said walking behind her. He'd had some bad memories in the past, but he'd learned to get past that and admire the view. Hinata had been surprised, she had been distracted and didn't even notice him approach. She still had longs ways to go as a ninja, she thought as she blushed from shame. The red-haired man didn't notice.

"You can see a huge part of the city." She answered with a smile. "Suna is beautiful."

"You can see better from higher up. I'll take you." He said and suddenly she was surrounded by sand that lifted them both up in the air and it was amazing. She gasped, and her eyes shone from the magnificent sight. The sun was setting so it wasn't too hot. The light slowly receding from each place it touched a second before. The houses starting to lit up. The merchants and children moving around restlessly down there, looking like small dots dawdling on. Hinata sat down and admired it. "Much better?"

"Yes. Amazing. Thank you, Kazekage-san."

"You can call me Gaara now. We passed the Chuunin exam at the same time. You are a friend of Naruto. We are fellow shinobi."

"I c-can't!" She blushed. However she couldn't refuse him either. "Hm. Would Gaara-san be okay?"

His lips curved up a little. "Yes, Hinata-san, Gaara-san will do." And she smiled to him then turned her face to appreciate the sight.

After a small pause, Gaara spoke up again. "Actually, I wanted to warn you. There has been word sent that Hiashi is looking to marry one of his daughter's. Does your sister know about this?" Gaara had assumed that it was the younger of the two, since Hinata, to people that don't know of her and her clan's situation, is the heir.

Hinata swallowed dryly. So her father was speeding things up. As soon as she set foot inside the village everything would be decided.

"Yes, she does." Hinata answered, her voice almost failing, but she gathered herself. "But it's not for her. It's for me." She managed to say.

Gaara was surprised. He examined her features. The Hyuuga had her clan's characteristic stoic face. She was determined. He didn't want to pry more than he should. "I see." He said. It changed his proposition a little, it would be more delicate. He cleared his throat. "Well, I am one of the first to get the news because I'm a possible suitor. My advisors have been pressuring me to find a wife, and one from Konoha's most prestigious clan would solidify our relations with the Nation of Fire." He paused. He looked down and admired his city. "However, that's not all. I do not wish to impose myself. At first, I had hoped to send my proposal through you to your sister, but I imagine now that I am making it directly to the concerned." He explained. Hinata noticed he was a bit embarrassed because he avoided eye contact. The Hyuuga herself was doing her best to avoid blushing. "I wouldn't force you to do anything you don't want concerning marital obligations." He choked on the last two words and Hinata almost fell off their sand pillow. "Only what is needed for the country and appearances. You would have your say on what concerns me." He ended. It wasn't how he'd thought it would happen. It was supposed to be more of an arrangement between two parties, not an actual marriage proposal. He felt silly. His ears were the same color as his hair. "W-well I think you see what I mean. This could arrange very well both parties." He took back as best as he could his official voice.

"A-ahm, y-yes, I understand." Is all she managed to say. They both stayed there in silence. "I thank you for your kind offer." She answered as she had been trained to say since her young age.

"Did you go on this voyage to delay this?" He asked, once he calmed down.

"Y-yes. I wanted to enjoy my freedom before it was taken away. If I am married off, I highly doubt I will be able to keep being a kunoichi." And despite having being told she wasn't suited for it, Hinata loved what she did. "I'd hoped for a while to become a medic-nin, so I would be a better fit for missions. But the main family has never been allowed to take that role. We are fighters and leaders, we cannot be support." She sighed.

"I see." Gaara said in deep reflexion. "And Sasuke?"

She turned full crimson. "W-w-what about Sasuke-san?"

"I see." He laughed a little. "Does he know why you came?"

"N-not exactly." She needed to get her stutter under control again.

"I think you should tell him." The way he trusted and listened to her, Gaara had a feeling their relationship was more than just partners for the Uchiha.

"I-I… there's nothing to tell. I-it's not his concern." He noticed a glint of sadness in her pale orbs. He decided to change the subject.

"How is Naruto doing?" His bond with the blond Jinchuuriki was one he really valued.

"He's doing great! Training a lot and they are grooming him to be the next Hokage! Although I don't think he has noticed that that's what they are doing." She giggled, a nice happy laugh. "He's been cheered on by the whole village, everyone recognizes him! He's been very happy too since Sasuke was freed." She looked at the Kazekage. "He probably is very grateful to you, he believes you were on their side." Hinata smiled thanking him too for that. Her eyes glistened with joy talking about Naruto, so he just let her ramble on. He noticed sometimes she blushed, or smiled too much.

'Naruto or Sasuke... I wonder how she really feels about them.' Gaara pondered, without knowing that the girl herself had the same question.

They exchanged a few stories until it became dark.

"Thank you for time, Hinata-san. You know about my proposal. I won't make any offers to your family without your agreement first. But I expect you'll give me an answer fast, I need to state my position soon."

"You have my gratitude Gaara-san. I shall respond as soon as possible." Once they had gotten off his cloud of sand, she bowed her hand in her fist, the formal and respectful bow of shinobis, and she walked away.

Should she tell Sasuke about this? It wouldn't be of any interest to him anyway. The girl shook her head. It was useless anyway. There was nothing she could do to go against her family. She could only accept her fate. And enjoy the time she still had. Maybe she would get married to a nice and handsome stranger. She giggled to herself, a sad laugh. 'That only happens in novels and stories.' He might not be bad. It just wouldn't be… the life she desired, or her home, or her friends. Maybe Gaara was her best bet.

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

Hinata opened her door. She had just changed after her shower, thinking about going out for a walk. She hadn't seen Sasuke all day, she hesitated if she should go ask him if he'd like to come too.

"Hi Hinata! Let's go to the bar get some drinks on." Temari said with a boastful smile that wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Sure." Hinata shyly answered with a smile, 'Why not?' She thought to herself. The blond woman had been very scary in the past, but now that they were allies, Hinata didn't see a reason to not accept her kindness. Even more when she was going out of her way to be friendly.

"So, how is it like travelling alone with the last Uchiha?" Temari asked after taking a huge sip of her sake cup.

"I-it's efficient." She didn't know what else to say.

Temari smirked. "Figures. Would only think of the mission. So many men like that." She complained.

"I-I guess so." Hinata had a hard time following her rhythm, she was wild, like the wind. It reminded her a bit of Naruto, maybe because they shared the same elemental affinity, that they had some personality quirks similar.

"And, hum, how are things in Konoha?" Temari beat around the bush. She wanted to know about one person specifically. When she couldn't take anymore all the things Hinata was telling her about the city and in general, she did: "How is Shikamaru doing? That lazy bum."

Hinata was surprised she'd ask for him in particular. Although it made sense. Their fight during the Chuunin exam was one an opponent would never forget. "He's working hard. He's training to be the Hokage's advisor… in his father's stead." She added with a sad note. The pain of losing loved ones in the war was hard to forget or get over. But it pushed them to go forward too. For them.

"I see." Temari said as she finished her drink and ordered another one. "When you are back, send him my regards. Tell him I still want a rematch."

They shared stories of missions, and Temari told her all about when Naruto helped them save Gaara from the Akatsuki. It warmed Hinata's heart to listen to Naruto's stories and see him be appreciated by ninja's from other countries. Hinata got swept up by the blond girl's energy and drunk more than she'd expected. When both were quite giggly, Temari waved:

"Hey! Look who's there! The gloomy handsome Uchiha! Over here! You should join us."

Sasuke had only got out of his room to look for freshness and a drink. His chambers were very hot and he had no wind coming in. He'd been working out all day inside and needed fresh air. When he saw that beside the blond loud girl was a quiet blushing dark beauty bent over the counter, he was glad to have gone outside. He had wanted to see her all day.

"How much did you drink?" He asked when he saw she was having a hard time standing upright. She was holding her head and she seemed awfully hot.

"Not much, come on! Have one too!" Temari yelled raising her glass.

"Not you." He snarled and touched Hinata's shoulder. He could see from her eyes that she was spinning.

"T-t-three or four cups." She answered, struggling to look him in the eye. He was very intimidating up close.

Very low-resistance to alcohol. Was there anything about this woman that didn't spell out 'prey'? Sasuke asked himself. He shook his head. She wasn't fine. She was almost at her limit. Or the limit he'd like she didn't pass.

"Come on, I'm taking you to your room." He grabbed her arm and tried to move her.

"I-I, I want to stay and dance!" Hinata said. She never wanted to dance in public. But she had just repeated to Gaara that she wanted to enjoy her freedom. Well, a married woman can't go to bars and dance, so if she didn't do it now, she never would.

"Fine." He let her go. "Go ahead. I'll stay here and watch." He said and sat down on the stool beside her with his arms crossed.

Her ears turned red. If he watched, she wouldn't move! She'd be too stressed.

"Good idea, Hinata! Let's go!" Temari said and pulled her to the dancefloor. Once there, Hinata didn't know what to do. The blond kunoichi was already moving, shaking and hitting the dancefloor. In her confusion, Hinata crossed Sasuke's raised eyebrows as if asking 'Are you done now?'

She felt ridiculous and got angry at him. She said goodbye to Temari, who barely heard her, and went across the dancefloor trying to lose the Uchiha in the sea of people.

"Who does he think he is to judge me! Or tell me what to do!" She was fuming.

"I didn't tell you what to do." He whispered in her ear from behind her. She squeaked and immediately raised her hand to mouth, regretting the noise she just made. Sasuke laughed, she was a great ninja, but she lowered her guard way too easily.

"Y-you pressured me! I-I had the whole night to f-feel ready to go o-out there and y-you rushed me." She accused him and as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. She should just shut up. Forever. If she could get any redder, she would.

"If just my gaze bothered you, what about all the other men in there watching your every move?" He retorted.

"T-there was none!" Her stutter only made her complaints look less credible. She hated it. Why did it come back? She stopped and took a deep breath. The alcohol was quickly rising to her brain and she was feeling less and less in control by the minute. "I'm just going to go lie down." She managed to get rid of her speech impediment. It was a good sign.

But as soon as she started moving, she stumbled on something and almost fell. Sasuke caught her just in time, and gave her an amused look with a 'I was right' mixed in. "I'll carry you back." And he lifted her up.

"S-stop!" There it was again, the syllables she couldn't pronounce in one go. "I-I'm not that drunk, Sasuke, I just s-stumbled on something." She protested weakly. Her body was pressed against his, she could smell his sweat, and she could feel his muscles flex after every move. His breath at the top of his head. His heat against her body. The alcohol made her feel everything more intensely, or so she blamed, and her body wanted to react accordingly.

Sasuke found her room, remembering where Temari had taken then that morning. He grabbed Hinata's room key from her pocket. His hand so close to her thighs made her shiver all over and he felt it. It was becoming hard to resist her. Very hard. Especially when he could see that she responded to his every move too.

He threw her on the bed like a sack of potatoes once more. She protested again. As much as he was tempted, he decided not to take advantage. As he was moving to leave. She grabbed his arm. Hinata didn't know why but she wanted him to stay, she didn't want him to go. Talking about Naruto all day made her heart warm, but what she felt under Sasuke's presence was different.

He couldn't take it anymore. He took a deep breath and turned around to face her. She had risen a bit and sat on the bed and was looking at him, wondering with innocent eyes what he was about to do. Sasuke locked lips with her. Gently at first, trying to feel if that's what she wanted too. She moved her lips against his and didn't try to push him away. Hinata put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. It drove him crazy. He raised the intensity and kissed her fervently. Desperately. He'd been waiting days to do this again. He wanted her and nothing else.

He got on the bed and on top of her. She asked for room to breathe and panted. But he couldn't wait, he invaded her mouth again. He wanted her. He needed her. Hinata was having a hard time keeping up but it felt so good. It was an amazing feeling. All she could think of was him. Her hands started to explore his neck and his back. He felt he had the liberty to do the same. His palm travelled the lines of her side, her arched back against his body. He caressed her thighs and slowly moved upwards; it was so slow Hinata was losing her mind. When he finally touched her there, she couldn't help but moan in anticipation.

It was hot. It was too hot. She wouldn't stop him now if he wanted to do more. She wanted him, only him. She trusted him. Sasuke stopped to look at her face. She was lovely. Sweating from the heat and the physical contact, her lavender eyes looked straight at his black ones and he knew he should pause there. She was ready to let him do more, but she wasn't ready to do more. They both stared at each other in the dark, panting and slowly decreasing their impulse. He kissed her lips gently, and it seemed to startle her.

He saw panic start to raise to her eyes from not knowing how to react to what they had been doing. Hyperventilation, mumbling, all coming in a few seconds. So he took her in his arms and embraced her gently. He wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, he felt awkward. However he loved having her in his arms. He wanted to protect her. To keep her close. For Hinata, it was soothing. Calming. As he started to stroke her hair, Hinata felt comfortable and safe. Sasuke has been making her experience all kinds of new feelings, and she was enjoying them all. It was as if he were saying 'everything will be just fine'.

 **End of Chapter 12**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _ **Trying my best to develop their relationship :) Open to suggestions. Hope you enjoyed it!**_

 _ **R & R, your reviews are what keep telling me: Come on, you gotta keep it up! So thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment.**_


	14. Chapter 13

I know it's been a very long time now. I appreciate every review and story follow, and story favorite which is what stops me from forgetting this story and struggle to finish it. This is a short chapter, it's been almost ready since I posted chapter 12 but I wasn't sure of a few elements. Hope you will enjoy and expect to see the rest soon!

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

* * *

They had slept in a tight embrace. The bed was huge and spacious, but they had felt no need to explore that space. Sasuke had her in his arms and just didn't want to let go. Once she had fallen asleep, the alcohol probably helping to that effect, he'd allowed himself to slumber as well. There was no doubt in his mind anymore. He loved her. He knew he did. Hinata had believed in him, been there for him and she was just pure innocence that even he could not taint. Or at least he hoped he wouldn't. The thought of ruining her made him shiver with despair.

What was he doing? His blood-filled world never should've mixed with her white one. Would everything he touched be ruined? Disgraced? This was no way to atone. He couldn't take her down. He just couldn't.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata's sweet sleepy voice roused him from his thoughts. He'd unconsciously moved away from her body and she felt him. Her hands grasped the front of his shirt, searching for his presence. She wanted to sleep a while more, to stay close to him some more minutes.

"I need to go to my room, Hinata." He whispered gently in her ear. Her grasp reluctantly let go of him and turned around. He sighed; he really didn't want to leave. But he felt he should. The point of this pilgrimage was to atone. To do the right thing. After everything, it didn't feel like he had the right to ask anything from her.

He kissed her cheek, absorbing every moment. Maybe once he was a better man. One who did not succumb to his desires like he'd done in the past and taken what he wanted. If it wasn't too late. If he wanted to at least be part of her life, now that he realized that that's what he desires, he needed to try harder. He couldn't rely on her to always be his beacon. His journey had only just started.

* * *

After a couple of days in Suna, Sasuke's hawk finally came back with news from Konoha. They were directing them to three missions near the both countries border and all needed expedited interventions. Hinata hadn't seen much of Sasuke those days after their night together. Thinking about it still made her blush. But Temari had occupied her with a city tour and Gaara had allowed her access to the medics compound where she could train. The Hyuuga heir was very grateful and enjoyed their generosity, and the so-needed distraction.

"We'll be taking our leave immediately." She announced to the Kazekage, taking the courage to look into his eyes. He was even more imposing with his ceremonial attire and surrounded by officials. "We've received word from our Hokage and need to attend affairs as fast as possible." It was the usual request for authorization to depart from their hospitality.

Sasuke only focused onwards, itching to move already. He'd always hated all formalities but from his childhood had learnt the importance of it. He was presently trying to re-engrave those teachings.

Before leaving the room, he turned his head around to stare one last time into the green eyes of one of his former enemies. Gaara understood what he meant. He would make good of the opportunity he'd been given. The most powerful man in Suna allowed himself to smile. Another soul had been given hope.

* * *

Sasuke barely allowed for them to rest. Hinata wondered if it was her imagination, but he seemed to be putting more distance between them. No more teasing, no more approaches. Both had always been the silent type; however, it was starting to bother even her, yet she never dared to break the silence. She just accepted it. This was his journey; she actually had no place to say anything.

Despite that feeling, she noticed some small attentions. He always took the first shift and let her sleep in a bit more, then he'd wake up on the time he wanted to leave not allowing her to do the same. He'd give her a slightly bigger portion, which took her some meals to notice and finally protest. He shrugged his shoulder as if "if you say so" and stopped it. He didn't ask for her help training anymore, and she knew he did after every sunrise when they were lodged in the villages. They'd had no more issues with rooms, each always got their own. She'd never seen shinobi accomplish missions so efficiently. Her team was one of the best in tracking but her eyes were enough to provide Sasuke enough information. He quickly analyzed every situation, could think like the enemy and neutralize them. She'd barely had a fight, he only ever let her take care of the small fry.

There were other changes. He was colder towards her however his head was cooler. It'd seem like he'd finally found his determination to steer his emotions on the right path. She didn't have to stop him anymore, and on the last mission she trusted that he wouldn't use any excessive force or extreme measures if not needed. Hinata would catch him at the end of mission in deep thought, looking at their captured prisoners before noticing her stare. He'd pretend it was nothing and would then start writing his report.

Their second mission had been to put a stop to bandits pillaring small villages one after the other. It had been hard to find them. The mission was simple: execution. The shinobis followed them back to their hideout and took them out with Sasuke's strategy. He'd also found a young girl one of them had kept prisoner. Once Hinata saw him carry her out, she'd rushed to apply first aid and then all the medical ninjutsu she'd learnt. Unfortunately, she was still a beginner and the injuries were far too great. Those bandits had taken turns torturing her and abusing her in ways it made Hinata's spine shiver.

Before they could reach the nearest village, the girl died in Hinata's arms after the deeper wound in her chest re-opened. Before dying, she had thanked her saviors and told them she was glad to at least go knowing her captors had been served justice.

Hinata clung to her body. Her name had been Elise. Sasuke had managed to keep his head for the whole thing and let her do as she wanted but he'd seen Hinata get attached and had feared this outcome.

"Hinata, let go. I'll find a place to bury her." Hinata stared at Elise's empty eyes. She cursed herself. If only she'd been a medic-nin, a real one. If only she'd been good at something. "Hinata." Sasuke covered her hand with his own and lifted it so her eyes would until they met his own. She bore a vacant gaze, her mind trying to stop the information from reaching her brain.

"She was only fifteen." Hinata managed to whisper.

"I know." He said. He tried to separate her from the now lifeless body. "At least she died knowing someone cared. We'll find a place where she can rest in peace." He argued.

Hinata had trained and managed now to keep her emotions at bay during missions. Nonetheless, her heart was too big for her own good and once she didn't have to anymore, she was exposed. She'd care too much. Sasuke had learned how she worked.

He undertook a stern voice. "Hinata, you are a shinobi. What do you have to do _right now?_ " His tone reminded her of her father's. It woke her up from her trance. Her eyes regained some color. Sasuke didn't like to force her like this but that was the only way he'd found to help her.

The Hyuuga, now bearing more than usual her family traits, got up and closed Elise's eyes. Right beside the body, she started to dig. Sasuke helped.

Once they were done, they both stared at the grave. Sasuke touched her arm gently, telling her 'It's okay now'. Hinata's eyes teared up immediately and released all the sadness that had welled up inside of her. Despite his efforts to distance themselves, the Uchiha knew she shouldn't feel alone. So he put his arm around her shoulder and sat down with her. Hinata raised both her arms, hiding her face behind them as she sobbed. He caressed her back and they stayed until she calmed down and fell asleep on him. She had feared he'd think she was weak and too emotional, but Sasuke had been understanding. She was grateful he'd been there for her.

* * *

Slowly the distance started to make her heart ache. Like a small rift that was growing. Their night in Suna had her believe they were growing closer, and during the night of the burial she thought they were developing the intimacy they had started years ago but never fully understood. The Hyuuga girl wasn't sure of what it was but she had decided to let herself go and see what it was. And after a fortnight, she was trying to convince herself that everything had just been a dream, or a misunderstanding on her part. Maybe she had just been a toy thing. An occupation. And once he saw he had won her over, there's was no more challenge, no interest? Rationally, she knew him well enough to know he wasn't that kind of man. Emotionally, she felt so rejected her heart shrunk in her chest when he'd pull away from her.

On their way back from their sixth and last mission, her distraught made her clumsy and she stumbled once more on a tree root. He had immediately reacted and caught her, but as quickly as he touched her, he let her go. She didn't realize how much she had longed to feel his touch again. Without a word he turned around and kept walking straight ahead, his face expressionless. Hinata couldn't help it. Tears of frustration rose to her eyes. Kunoichi's were trained to hide and control their emotions when needed. But she didn't need to at that moment, she'd had enough.

"You could've said something at least." She accused.

Sasuke turned back to look at her and was confused at her reaction.

"Said what about what?"

"If you regretted what happened. At least make things clear since we are to keep travelling together." She breathed in, trying to sound rational. She felt ugly, rejected and useless. And stupid. She needed to shut up. Again. She was so good at not talking but why was it that once she started, she couldn't stop herself?

"What? Hinata, what are you talking about?" Sasuke's face seemed worried, but that was probably just her imagination.

She was stupid. Hinata swallowed, took a deep breath and got herself under control. "Nevermind, I was just delirious from the heat. I-I'm sorry for my outburst." Her stutter came back as he took a step towards her. "I-I-It's nothing really." He got closer. "S-stop." She took a step back only to be met with a tree bark. "I'm s-sorry." She whispered as his body was now only inches from her. But he had stopped, just like she asked.

"What is it Hinata?" he asked again, his eyes serious. He'd been trying really hard to be respectful and give her space, but if he'd hurt her, he'd never forgive himself. He needed to know.

"I-I-" She couldn't lie to those scrutinizing onyx orbs staring right into hers. "It's not a big deal. I get that you wanted to play around and now you are not interested anymore." She managed to burst out. "Of course, you can have any woman you want, so why stick to a plain girl like me, I'm the fool for being c-caught up in it and-" she rambled a bit and tried to laugh it off. He squeezed his eyes analyzing her features.

He had put his arm above her head so he could lean on her with the support of the tree that wouldn't allow her to escape. His weight shifted and dropped. So that was it. His weight lifted off his shoulders. He dropped until his forehead rested on her shoulder. "You are not _plain,_ Hinata. You are beautiful. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and will ever see. I have not lost interest in you or will ever be interested in anyone else because to my eyes there is only you." As he spoke, his voice was muffled by their position, but Hinata understood every word. She blushed, a deeply faint maiden blush. "But I am not good enough for you. I have forced myself on you and you deserve better than me-"

Hinata's face flushed and her body quivered. Sensing her commotion, Sasuke lifted his face to find himself in front of a puffy red-eyed girl pouting at him. "H-how dare you, Sasuke Uchiha!" She managed to yell, putting a hand to his chest and pushing him away. His body was easily thrown back, due to his surprise seeing her in that state. " _Good enough for me_? _Forced yourself on me?"_ She repeated in the best mocking tone her sweet voice could imitate. It had not been very convincing between her sobs. "I should get to decide that! Who do you think you are, or anyone else for the matter, to dictate anything for myself?!" She'd shout if she could. But her voice never really rose to those levels.

Sasuke had never seen her angry. Her tears were from frustration and her difficulty in dealing with confrontations. Her increased blood flow was from vexation and her pout from annoyance. Nevertheless, to him, she looked adorable.

"Hinata, I am the man who betrayed his village. I hurt you badly on a training session, I have _killed_ people and I have conspired against everyone you love. How can I ask for a place by your side?" His eyes shifted to the side, not managing to hold her gaze.

"Have I ever asked you to stop? Did I ever hold anything against you, even when we were enemies? Yes, I was badly hurt when we fought for the last time as children, but _I_ faced _you_ , I accepted your challenge as a _kunoichi._ I saw you were mad and wouldn't hold back, however _I_ did not try to run away or begged you to cease the fight. That was my decision." Sasuke remembered how her eyes had only been filled with worry for him instead of the pain she must've been felting from broken ribs. How those pale orbs could convey so much information. It always confused him. "Even when you k-kissed me the first time, I didn't fight you back or-" More tears came to her eyes. She felt like she had been once again dismissed of her own fate. Was she fated to have others decide everything for her?

Sasuke was taken aback. He passed his fingers through his hair, trying to analyze what Hinata had just said. He hadn't thought of it that way. His mind had been trailing on a different path. He slowly approached her and noticed she didn't try to slip away anymore. Despite her tears, she was determined to hold her ground. Her small hands were curled into fists by her side. Her eyes trembled from her usual instinct of avoiding eye contact, but her will kept them looking straight into his own. Sasuke analyzed her whole feature and damn, she stunned him.

The Uchiha slipped his hand over her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers. "So, I can do this and if you don't want me to, you'll say so?"

Wiping away a tear, Hinata answered "Y-yes, you idiot." He smiled at her attempt to insult him.

Without waiting another second, he pressed his lips against hers. She replied faintly. "And this too?" He asked again. She nodded nervously, with anticipation. Hinata had not realized how much she had missed his lips the past few weeks.

Sasuke let his hand trail to the back of her hips and pressed her body against his. He wanted to move his other hand to her neck to bring her closer and realized why he couldn't. Hinata noticed the deadly stare to his left side, his eyes darkening with bitterness. Before he got swayed by other feelings, she put both her hands on his face and called him into deepening what he had started. Surprised by her initiative, he let himself be led, but she was too sweet, too shy, too docile. He'd been avoiding her the past few days and it had mortified his desires.

It didn't take long before he was in control again and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She let him roam free, enjoying every second of everything this man made her body feel and her mind go numb. His hand clung to her neck, keeping her close. He enveloped her in his own cloak, and it felt like there were on a world of their own. Only them. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. At that moment she was his and he was hers.

He opened the zipper of her baggy jacket to reveal she was only wearing a black-laced bra underneath. He admired her stunning body, she had amazing curves. He noticed her skin turn a shade pinker and realized she was blushing.

"It's been very hot…" She tried to justify her attire. He didn't mind. As she had tried to hide her now exposed bare skin, he pushed her arms aside and kissed her collarbone. His kisses slipped lower and lower, towards her collarbone and then towards her chest. To his luck, her bra opened in the front and with a deviant smile e popped it open. His tongue teased her nipples, one and then the other, and he could feel her legs growing weak from desire and the rest of her body responding accordingly. When she moaned, he couldn't help himself anymore. He wanted to make her experience everything, to make her lose her mind. Sasuke returned to kissing her and Hinata put a hand at the nape of his neck and another on his back. She was letting him know she wanted him too.

Sasuke decided to go further, trusting she'd stop him if it wasn't what she wanted. His fingers trailer over her inner thighs and went up until he caressed between her legs. Hinata broke their kiss to gasp, exposing her neck to his hungry lips. He bit her neck as he slid his hand into her pants. He felt her wetness and teased her. Slowly, he introduced one finger. She was tight, very tight, but her insides welcomed the sensations and as he started to move, Hinata felt a pleasure she didn't even know existed. At the same time, she could perceive his desire from between his legs against her hips and it only made her want more. As she relaxed, he inserted another one. As he moved, Hinata pulled him closer, and he couldn't help but deliver.

"Ooh˜" Escaped her lips as her pleasure rose and rose until it peaked and suddenly all her muscles relaxed. Sasuke kissed her as he removed his hand from her pants and closed her bra. They were both panting and flushed as they stared at each other.

He knew what her puzzled face was thinking. "Yes, that was an orgasm" he said with a smirk. "But a small one. Nothing like the ones to come." He said as he turned his back knowing she would blush even deeper and quickly wrestle with the zipper of her jacket.

As her legs gave out from all the excitement and the lack of blood (all in her face at the moment), he caught her in his arms before her bottom reached the floor and carried her like a princess. She buried her face into his chest, too embarrassed to look anywhere else.

"Your room or mine?"

 **End of chapter 13**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

As usual, please read & review. I'm open to constructive criticism, corrections and ideas :)

Thanks for following until now!


End file.
